Overview
The Antillean manatee (Trichechus manatus manatus) is a subspecies of the West Indian manatee. Manatees are large herbivorous (plant-eating) marine mammals.
Antillean manatees are found along the Mexican Gulf of Mexico coastline, down through Central America, and continuing to Brazil’s northeastern Atlantic coastline, as well as in the Caribbean Greater Antilles.
The primary threats to the Antillean manatee include alteration, degradation, or loss of habitat, watercraft collisions, human harassment, poaching, and entanglement in or ingestion of fishing gear and marine debris. Manatees are federally protected under the Endangered Species Act and under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
Scientific Name
Identification Numbers
Characteristics
Habitat
Manatees live in marine, brackish, and freshwater systems in coastal and riverine areas throughout their range. Preferred habitats include areas near the shore featuring submerged aquatic vegetation like seagrass. They feed along grass bed margins with access to deep water channels, where they may flee when threatened.
Of or relating to the sea.
The land near a shore.
A natural body of running water.
Food
Due to their eating habits, manatees are nicknamed sea cows, because they eat seagrasses and other aquatic plants along coastal waters, marshes and rivers. As an interesting and unique adaptation to their diet (which includes plants and other material that may wear down their teeth), manatees exhibit tooth replacement with molars that are continually replaced throughout their life.
Behavior
Manatees are herbivores or plant eaters and spend up to 8 hours a day eating seagrass or other vegetation. They may consume up to 10% of their body weight per day.
Manatees typically surface every three to five minutes to breathe but can hold their breath as long as 20 minutes.
Manatee mothers nurse their calves by providing them with milk from teats located just behind their flippers. The mother manatee cares for her calf for about two years. This is a very important time for the manatee calf as, during this time, the adult female teaches her offspring critical survival skills: how to migrate, where the warm water sites are, and where to find forage, freshwater, and sheltered areas.
Physical Characteristics
Manatees are large marine mammals with two flippers and a large, paddle-shaped tail. The flippers are used to steer and hold vegetation. Their powerful tails are used for swimming, helping them reach speeds of 15 miles per hour for very short periods.
Adult manatees are typically 9-10 feet long but can reach lengths of more than 13 feet. Newborn manatees average four to four and a half feet in length.
Adult manatees typically weigh around 1,000 pounds but some can weigh as much as 3,500 pounds. At birth, a manatee calf weighs around 60 to 70 pounds. Antillean manatees are commonly reported as smaller and lighter than Florida manatees, but sizes and weights do overlap.
Manatees are typically greyish brown in color. They have sparse hairs spread across their bodies, with bristles referred to as vibrissae about the muzzle. Manatees are sometimes covered in algae which can make them appear green or brown in color. Newborn calves are darker at birth.
Life Cycle
Manatee mothers nurse their calves by providing them with milk from teats located just behind their flippers. The mother manatee cares for her calf for about two years. This is a very important time for the manatee calf as, during this time, the adult female teaches her offspring critical survival skills: how to migrate, where the warm water sites are, and where to find forage, freshwater, and sheltered areas.
Geography
The Antillean manatee is found along the Gulf of Mexico coast, through the Caribbean, and along Brazil’s northeastern Atlantic coastline. The species occurs in a patchy distribution from northern Mexico to the northeastern coast of Brazil, as well as in the Caribbean. However, historical accounts, including several hunting accounts, suggest that Antillean manatees were once more common throughout their range. Manatees may travel hundreds of miles during a year’s time, preferring to travel along channels and shorelines.