A big ass aquatic creature known as"Manatee" caught at obuama river yesterday by two fishermen.
Here are what you don't know about this Big Creature. "Manatee"
Manatees are thought to have evolved from four-legged land mammals more than 60 million years ago. Except for the Amazonian manatee, their paddle like flippers have vestigial toenails— a remnant of the claws they had when they lived on land.
The Amazon species name "inunguis" is Latin for "without nails." The name manatee comes from the Taíno (a pre-Columbian people of the Caribbean) word manatí, meaning "breast."
Manatees' eyes are small, but their eyesight is good. They have a special membrane that can be drawn
across the eyeball for protection. Their hearing is good too , despite not having outer ear structures,
because manatees have large inner ear bones.
Manatees' only teeth are called marching molars. Throughout a manatee's life, the molars are
constantly replaced — an adaption to their diet of abrasive vegetation. Manatees have only six neck
vertebrae. Most other mammals, including giraffes, have seven. As a result, manatees cannot turn their
heads sideways, and must turn their whole body around to look behind them.
Algae, photosynthetic organisms, often grow on manatees' skin. Manatees never go on land.
Manatees don't always need to breathe. As they swim, they poke their nose up above the water's
surface to catch a few breaths every few minutes. If they are simply resting, they can stay under the
water for 15 minutes without taking a breath, according to National Geographic.
Isaac Nobenz
No comments:
Post a Comment