The scientific genus name Trichechus is Latin for hair. A. Actual manatee fossils found all over the world go back as far as 60 million years.
Researchers believe that modern manatees evolved from four-footed land mammals.
Manatee fossils found in Florida's springs date back about 45 million years. Supposedly, Christopher Columbus saw manatees in 1493, and William Bartram described manatees and manatee hunting in Florida in 1774. On the whole, the sensory systems of the manatee have not been well studied. Anatomically, manatees have extremely large ear bones and may have a good sense of hearing. Manatees emit sounds underwater that are used in communicating with one another.