HERBIVOROUS CETACEANS.
Until a very recent period the animals composing this family were quite unknown, or perhaps we ought rather to say they were just sufficiently known to make them the objects of superstition. Seeing that there is in their general appearance, somewhat of a resemblance to the human form, the casual glimpses obtained of them at once satisfied their first discoverers that they were Tritons and Sirens, such as they had read of in mythological writings, and the belief in the existence of Mermaids and Mermen was thus at once confirmed.
In the works of Gesner, Aldrovandus and Jonston, the earliest authors after the renaissance of Natural History in modern times, the figures of creatures having human bodies joined with the tails of Fishes are inserted with the utmost faith in their existence.
A more accurate acquaintance with these strange creatures has, however, revealed to later voyagers that they are merely a race of animals very closely allied in their organization to Whales, which in form they closely resemble, while their internal structure shows them to be still more nearly related to the gigantic Pachyderm Quadrupeds, such as the Hippopotamus and the Tapir.
The main feature which distinguishes the Herbivorous Cetaceans is their total want of hind limbs, a circumstance in which they resemble the true Whales and Dolphins; but in the structure of their nostrils they conform to the usual arrangement met with in four-footed Mammalia. Instead of whalebone or the sharp conical teeth of the Dolphins, they are furnished with broad, flat grinders, wherewith they chew their vegetable food, which consists principally of the sea-weeds, etc., abundant near the shores which they frequent. In short, as Buffon well expresses it, these creatures terminate the list of terrestrial quadrupeds and commence the history of the population of the sea, or, more correctly, form the connecting link between the Mammiferous inhabitants of the ocean and those of the river and the marsh.
This family comprises the Manatees and the Dugongs.
THE MANATEES.
MANATEE.
MANATEE.
MANATEE.
These animals are distinguished by the arrangement of their teeth and by certain peculiarities in the structure of their head. The number of their teeth is considerable, their grinders have roots distinct from the crown of the tusk, which forms a grinding surface composed of transverse elevated ridges. The incisor teeth are quite rudimentary. Their only limbs somewhat resemble hands, and their fingers are provided with nails, while the fin at their tail is not forked, but single, and of an oval shape. These creatures seem to be intermediate in their structure between the Pachyderms and the Cetaceans, seeing that their grinding teeth very much resemble those of the Tapirs. Three species are known to Naturalists—one from South America, one from Senegal and one from Florida.
Although the western coasts of Africa were frequented by sailors in very ancient times, and known to Europeans long before the discovery of the American continent, the Manatee which is found upon the eastern shores of America was known to Naturalists before the African species. The interest aroused by the discovery of a new world attracted enlightened men, who flocked to its shore, and described its productions; while the African continent, never having received Europeans but as enemies, was in turn treated as an enemy’s country, and could only be visited at a considerable risk.
The name of Manatus is evidently derived from the Spanish word mano, a hand, or manato, furnished with hands, seeing that the creature seems to have noarms, little being seen externally but the fingers. Its length is from eighteen to twenty feet, and it is at least six feet across at the broadest part of its body, just behind the hands. Its general appearance is that of a Whale; it has no neck, nor any vestiges of hinder extremities, but it differs materially from the true Cetaceans in many points of its structure. Four of its fingers, for instance, are furnished with nails, and its tail is of an oval shape.
This animal appears to live entirely upon sea-weed, nothing but the remains of various kinds of fucus having been found in its stomach. The form of its teeth corresponds with the supposition that this is its only food, and seeing that it has no incisor teeth, it must necessarily browse this kind of grass by means of its fleshy lips, which are covered with stiff hairs. The habits of the Manatee are gentle; it is even stated to be capable of being to some extent tamed. It associates with its fellows in herds, which are more or less numerous. The mother exhibits the greatest affection for her young ones, which are one or two in number; she carries them in her hands while feeding them, and her milk is said to be as sweet and well-tasted as that of a cow. The Manatee frequents the estuaries of the rivers of South America, and even sometimes ventures to ascend their streams for a short distance. Its flesh and its fat are both considered delicacies. One is said to resemble veal, the other bacon, the latter having the additional recommendation of keeping good for a long period.
The Dugongs were forsome time confounded with the Walruses and Manatees, under the generic name of Trichecus, until Lacepede, perceiving their distinctive characters, separated them as a distinct race, to which he applied the name Dugong, thus trying to Latinize their native appellation. Such Latin as that, however, could not be tolerated even by Zoologists, and hence Illiger conferred upon them the more euphonious name of Halicore (daughter of the sea). Although the organization of the Dugong in its general features resembles that of the Manatee, there are important differences whereby they are clearly distinguishable. The molar teeth of the Dugong have no roots, but present merely a flat surface bordered with enamel; moreover, they are fewer than in the Manatee, and the Dugong has rudimentary incisors. The structure of the hands is likewise modified. The fingers of the Dugong have no nails, and very much resemble the flippers of ordinary Cetaceans, while the nostrils, instead of opening at the end of the snout, are approximated to the top of the head, another circumstance by which the Dugongs seem to be intermediate between the herbivorous and carnivorous forms of Whale.
The only known species is the Halicore Dugong. These animals live in societies, in shallow bays near the mouths of rivers, and in narrow arms of the sea where the depth is only two or three fathoms. In such situations they find abundance of sea-weed, which seems to constitute their only nutriment, and which they tear from the rocks by means of their flexible but powerful and fleshy lips. In the Sunda Isles Dugongs were formerly numerous, but their flesh is esteemed a dainty, and the species is now becoming scarce.
The chase after them is carried on during very calm weather, and generally by night. Their vicinity is detected by the noise they make in breathing as they lie at the top of the water, when by approaching them cautiously in a boat, they are easily harpooned. When once the weapon is fixed, all the efforts of the assailants are directed to getting a rope round the tail of their victim, and this being accomplished it is quite helpless.
The mother and her young, and also the male and his mate, show great attachment for each other; if one is caught, the capture of the other is a certainty, as the survivor, totally regardless of danger, gives itself up to its enemies.