Of course, he had not actually seen a mermaid, but instead, a manatee, and his logbook became the first written historical reference to the now greatly endangered West Indian Manatee. Join us as we explore the underwater world of this fascinating and often misunderstood marine mammal. The manatee is a marine mammal, like a seal or a whale, but is unique in many ways. Like all mammals, manatees have lungs and breathe air. Therefore, they must hold their breath while diving, and need to surface for air periodically.
Manatees have a horizontally flattened tail fluke and a pair of front flippers like whales do.
But unlike whales, manatees live in both salt water and fresh water, and move between the two at will. Manatees are contained within the order Sirenia. There are only four living species of manatees in the world, all of which are similar in size and appearance, but with minor differences in anatomy. The West Indian Manatee is the only sirenian species found within the United States. The others are found in West Africa, the Amazon and the South Pacific.