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Cristobal Colon, who on his first trip to the Americas was able to "see" three sirens from the bow of his barcode, as he reflected in his newspaper: "When the Admiral was going to Río del Oro he said that he saw three mermaids emerging from the water, but they were not as beautiful as they say, because their faces have masculine features ».

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Kingdom: | Animalia
Phylum: | Chordata
Class: | Mammalia
Order: | Sirenia
Family: | Trichechidae
Genus: | Trichechus

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They are large, gray-colored marine mammals with bodies that taper to a flat surface with a spoon-shaped tail. They have two arms, called flippers, with three or four nails on each flipper. Their heads and faces are wrinkled with whiskers on their snouts.

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Sirenians are referred to as "sea cows" because their diet consists mainly of seagrass. Dugongs sift through the seafloor in search of seagrasses.
They ingest the whole plant, including the roots, although they will feed on just the leaves if this is not possible.

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West Indian in green
Amazonian in red
African in orange
dugong in blue
Steller's sea cow circled (yellow)

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The manatee is unusual among mammals in having just six cervical vertebrae, a number that may be due to mutations in the homeotic genes. All other mammals have seven cervical vertebrae, other than the two-toed and three-toed sloths.

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West Indian manatees in the United States are protected under federal law by the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, and the Endangered Species Act of 1973, which make it illegal to harass, hunt, capture, or kill any marine mammal. West Indian manatees are also protected by the Florida Manatee Sanctuary Act of 1978. Violations of these federal or state laws can be met with civil or criminal convictions associated with monetary fines and/or imprisonment.

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Sirenia, commonly sirenians, are also referred to by the common name sirens, deriving from the sirens of Greek mythology. This comes from a legend about their discovery, involving lonely sailors mistaking them for mermaids.

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West Indian manatees have no natural enemies, and it is believed they can live 60 years or more. As with all wild animal populations, a certain percentage of manatee mortality is attributed to natural causes of death such as cold stress, gastrointestinal disease, pneumonia, and other diseases. A high number of additional fatalities are from human-related causes.