Tuesday, April 5, 2011
The closest land relative to a manatee is the Elephant. Other than the backbone, manatee bones are solid like tusks. Their eyes are set way back in the head like an elephant. They have only molars for chewing plants. Their face ends in a snout and they have moveable lips for manipulating food. Their face is also covered with the same type of whiskers. Manatee flippers have the same toenails as elephants. Their back legs are fused into a broad tail. A relative of the manatee, the Australian Dugong, has a forked tail, and still shows remnants of the back legs.