African Manatee

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West African Manatee
Conservation status
Vulnerable
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Subphylum: Vertebrata Class: Mammalia Order: Sirenia Family: Trichechidae Genus: Trichechus Species: T. senegalensis
Binomial name
Trichechus senegalensis Link, 1795

The African Manatee (Trichechus senegalensis) is a species of manatee, and is the least studied of the four species of sirenians. Photos of African Manatees are very rare; although very little is known about this species, scientists think they are similar to the West Indian Manatees. They are found in coastal marine and estuarine habitats, and in fresh water river systems along the west coast of Africa from the Senegal River south to the Kwanza River in Angola, including areas in Gambia, Liberia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, Republic of the Congo, and Democratic Republic of the Congo. Although crocodiles and sharks occasionally kill manatees in Africa, their only significant threats are from humankind, such as poaching, habitat loss, and other environmental impacts.

They live as far upriver on the Niger River as Gao, Mali. Although rare, they occaisonally get stranded as the river dries up at the end of rainy season and are cooked for a meal. The name in Songhai, the local language, is "ayyu".

[edit] Also see

• Sirenia
• Evolution of sirenians

[edit] References

• Powell & Kouadio (2006). Trichechus senegalensis. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is vulnerable
• Shoshani, Jeheskel (November 16, 2005). in Wilson, D. E., and Reeder, D. M. (eds): Mammal Species of the World, 3rd edition, Johns Hopkins University Press, 93. ISBN 0-801-88221-4.