THE MANATEES.
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.