Lives on our planet great amount living beings, surprising with their species and forms. Among them there is an interesting and unique animal - a mammal siren that lives in sea and fresh waters. It is represented by several types, different in their characteristics.

Description

Examining the fossil remains of animals, scientists came to the conclusion that the ancestors of the sirens lived in shallow water. They had four limbs, went to land and ate grass. The number of remains of animals like sirens speaks of their large population.

In the course of evolution, the hind limbs of these mammals disappeared and a fin appeared instead.

Thanks to modern technologies seeing a photo of a siren is quite simple.

These amazing mammals are very cautious. They never leave the expanses of water, so it is impossible to meet them on land. Move slowly and smoothly.

live small families or one individual. Life expectancy is about 20 years.

habitats

Mammals sirens are adapted to life only in water. Mostly choose warm shallow water. Depending on the species, they live in both salty and fresh waters. Distributed in the waters of the Amazon River, Indian Ocean, along Atlantic coast America, west coast Africa, near the Caribbean islands, the waters of Brazil and some other countries.

Characteristic

Sirens' body has a very interesting structure shaped like a cylinder. The length can be from 2.5 meters to 6 meters. Body weight reaches 650 kilograms.

The bones of animal sirens are heavy and have a dense structure. In the course of evolution, fins were formed from the tail and forelimbs.

The forelimbs are shaped like flippers. Very mobile in the elbow and wrist joint. Five fingers are distinguished on the skeleton of the animal, but appearance it is impossible to detect them, since they are covered with one skin and form a fin.

The hind limbs gradually disappeared. Now they cannot be seen even in the structure of the skeleton of these mammals. Sirens also lack a dorsal fin.

The back fin has no rounded bones. It is necessary for the implementation of the motor function and navigation.

The skin has sparse hairs resembling bristles. The skin forms folds on the body, its thickness is quite large. Under the skin is a well-developed layer of adipose tissue.

The head is elongated, rounded, with small eyes, nostrils and mouth. There are whiskers on the head, which, together with a developed upper lip, perform a tactile function and help the siren to explore objects. The animal does not have auricles. Auditory openings are relatively small. The number of teeth depends on the type and age of the animal. small and short tongue calloused in structure.

Classification

Siren mammals today are divided into two families.

Dugons. The only representative of the family living in our time is the dugong. The average body length is from 2 to 4 meters, weight up to 600 kilograms. The largest number of individuals inhabits the Great Barrier Reef. They live in warm shallow water, often alone. There are known cases of dugongs entering the sea and estuaries. Among the striking differences from other sirens is the presence of a tail, divided by a recess into two parts. And also has larger and more elongated lips.

Extinct representatives of the dugong family are sea cows. differed large sizes: length reached 10 meters, weight up to 10 tons. They lived in the waters of the Pacific Ocean in shallow water, without sinking too deep. They led a herd life, had a calm character.

Manatees. They are divided into four types:

• American manatee. The average body length is 3 meters, weight is from 200 to 600 kilograms, and females are usually larger than males. They live in small marshy areas. caribbean in the South, Central and North America; in places rich in abundant vegetation suitable for food, without the presence of enemies among other animals. Since it has a small layer of fatty tissue, it prefers only warm waters. It has a gray color with a blue tint. The American manatee is able to take root in both salty and fresh water, adapt to polluted ecology.
• Amazonian manatee. Habitat is typical only for the waters of the Amazon River. Does not survive in salt water. Prefers deep and still waters. The color is distinguished by smoother skin, the presence of one or more white spots on the chest. It has small dimensions: average length is 2.5 meters, weight is 400 kilograms. most dangerous natural enemies are crocodiles and jaguars.

Below is a photo of an Amazonian manatee siren.

• African manatee. Distributed in coastal waters, rivers and lakes along the western coast of Africa. Avoids waters with high salinity. The characteristics are very similar to the American manatee. The main difference is the black and gray color of the skin. It is most active at night.
• Dwarf manatee. Little is known about the life of this species. It lives in the rivers of the Amazon basin, choosing areas with fast water movement. Among the sirens, it has the smallest dimensions. The average body length is only 130 centimeters, weight 60 kilograms. The color of the skin is black with a white spot on the chest, like that of the Amazonian manatee.

Nutrition

Sirens are herbivores. Since they never go to land, they feed on sea grass and algae that grow at the bottom of the reservoir. The upper lip is well developed, which allows it to successfully grab and pluck plants.

Fruits and leaves of trees that have fallen or hanging low to the water also serve as a source of food for some species.

In some cases, sirens can eat fish and invertebrates. This usually happens when there is a lack of plant foods. Also, with a limited amount of algae and grass, these animals migrate in search of places rich in suitable food.

Behavior

Mammals sirens have a very calm and slow nature.

Individuals communicate with each other by means of which they notify of possible danger, serve as a means of communication between the female and the cub, or are a call during the breeding season.

The body of the sirens is arranged in such a way that it is easy to confuse the animals with bathing people. Perhaps this was the reason for unusual name mammals taken from Greek mythology. The Song of the Sirens is also related to creatures from fairy tales. And it doesn't apply to mammals. Animals make sounds that are more like crackling than the singing of sirens from mythology.

When threatened by predators, they often flee.

Mostly lead a solitary lifestyle. Sometimes they can gather in small groups in places rich in marine vegetation.

They do not descend to great depths, as they emerge from the water every 3-5 minutes to breathe.

reproduction

The breeding season is not tied to a specific time, it occurs throughout the year. At this time, females secrete a special enzyme. They also call on males with characteristic sounds. Males can be aggressive towards each other due to the attention of the female.

The siren's pregnancy lasts a little over a year. Births take place in shallow waters. As a rule, one cub is born (two - very rarely) weighing from 20 to 30 kilograms and about one meter long. Feeding is quite long, from a year to a year and a half, despite the fact that the cub is able to consume plant foods at about three months.

The relationship between a female and her cub is long-lasting and especially affectionate. Males do not take part in the development of offspring.

Sources of threat to life

Unfortunately, today these amazing mammals are endangered. The reason for this was the hunt for valuable meat and the skin of this animal, as well as damage received from the movement of the blades of the engines of ships and boats. It is not uncommon for sirens to get caught in fishing nets.

pollution environment also contributes to a significant decrease in the number of these animals.

Mammal sirens have enemies in natural environment. These are sharks, crocodiles and jaguars.

The order of the Siren - Sirenia - unites secondary aquatic mammals (marine or freshwater) that have adapted to permanent life in the water. Along with cetaceans and pinnipeds, sirens are the third large taxon mammals living in the water. Unlike seals, however, they cannot move on land due to their weak limbs. They also cannot be compared with whales, since they usually live in shallow coastal waters or even in fresh water.

Sirens are massive animals with a cylindrical body. Body length 2.5-5.8 m (for an extinct sea cow up to 7.2-10 m). Weight up to 650 kg (for a sea cow up to 4 tons). Their forelimbs turned into fins, and the hind limbs completely disappeared during evolution, their remains cannot be established even in the skeleton. Sirens do not have a dorsal fin, like some species of whales. The tail has changed into a flat rear fin. The skin is very thick and wrinkled, there is no hairline. The muzzle is long, but flattened, not pointed. The head is relatively small, rounded with a relatively small mouth. Compared to the body, the head is quite large, however, the volume of the brain in relation to body size is one of the smallest among all mammals. The head is surrounded by hard and sensitive whiskers, with which the sirens touch objects. The nostrils are relatively high.

highly developed upper lip in sirens, it forms a soft “lip disc” - a kind of trunk, equipped with organs of tactile sensation. The mouth opening is located on the lower surface of the head. External nasal openings open at the top of the head and are able to close. The eyes are small, with movable eyelids without eyelashes; the nictitating membrane is well developed. There are no auricles, the ear openings are very small. The forelimbs are five-fingered, turned into flippers. The hind limbs of the sirens are reduced. The flippers move freely in the shoulder joint and, unlike cetaceans, are mobile in the elbow and wrist joints. The fingers are dressed in a common skin and are invisible from the outside. Skeletonless horizontal caudal fin triangular or rounded; it serves as a locomotor organ.

The skin of the sirens is thick, covered with sparse bristly hairs. Subcutaneous adipose tissue is highly developed. Numerous thick vibrissae are located on the lips. Two sirens' nipples are located in the chest region. Skull with strongly developed rostrum formed by large premaxillae. The bony nasal opening is strongly shifted upwards. The nasal bones are very small or absent. The lacrimal bone is small, without a lacrimal canal. Although the bony palate is long, the small palatine bones take little part in its formation. The lower jaw is massive with a symphysis obliquely inclined downwards.

The number and shape of teeth in individual genera of sirens varies greatly. The front of the palate is covered with calloused layers, which probably aids in eating. The short tongue is also calloused. The teeth are represented by incisors - (in adult animals they may be absent) and molars separated from them by a wide diastema. The incisors are often found in a degenerate form, and canine teeth are absent in all extant species. The number of molars ranges from 3 to 10 in each half of the jaw. Their chewing surface bears two transverse ridges formed by three tubercles each. When worn, the chewing surface flattens.

The anterior part of the palate and the opposite part of the lower jaw (symphysis region) are covered with coarse horny plates that serve to grind food. The same plates are present on the upper surface of a small tongue. The bones of the skeleton of sirens are dense and heavy; long bones without a median cerebral cavity. Forelimbs with strongly shortened shoulder and forearm. There is no collarbone. The bones of the posterior free limb are absent. The pelvis is in a reduced state and is represented by one or two pairs of bones. There are no pubic bones. The vertebrae do not fuse together. The cervical region has 6 (Trichechidae), 7 (Dugongidae), or 6 or 7 (Hydrodamalidae) vertebrae. Os penis no.

The stomach of the sirens is complex, with a sharp constriction between the cardiac and pyloric parts, a blind glandular outgrowth in the cardiac region and two blind sacs in the pyloric. The intestine is very long. It exceeds the body length by 13-20 times. The caecum is well developed, in some species with two additional appendages. The lungs are simple, long and narrow, not divided into lobes. The brain is small with few convolutions; olfactory lobes are well developed. The kidneys are lobed. The uterus is bicornuate. The placenta is zonal, non-falling. The testicles are located in the abdominal cavity.

Sirens live alone or in small groups. They always move slowly and carefully. Their food is exclusively vegetarian in nature and consists of sea grass and algae. The life expectancy of sirens is about twenty years.

Sirens are widespread in the tropical waters of the Indian, Atlantic and eastern parts. Pacific Oceans, as well as in the basins of the Amazon, Orinoco, in the rivers of tropical West Africa. extinct sea ​​cow lived in the Bering Sea. locals hunting sirens for their tasty meat and durable leather. Fossil representatives of the order are known from the Middle Eocene of ARE and Jamaica. The most ancient of them, although they had a number of primitive features (complete dental system, lack of horny plates, fairly well developed pelvis, rudimentary hind limbs), were true aquatic animals.

Sirens have common land ancestors with proboscis and hyraxes. The earliest known fossils of siren-like animals date from the early Eocene and are about 50 million years old. These animals were four-legged herbivores, still able to move on land, but already living mainly in shallow water. Subsequently, the ancestors of the sirens were very successful and widespread animals, as evidenced by numerous fossils. The hind limbs quickly disappeared, and a horizontal rear fin developed instead.

In the Eocene, the families Prorastomidae (†), Protosirenidae (†), and dugongs (Dugongidae) were formed. According to the opinion prevailing among zoologists, manatees appeared only in the Miocene. There were no traces of the first two families already in the Oligocene; since then, the order of sirens has been divided into only two families. In the Miocene and Pliocene, sirens were much more numerous and diverse than they are today. It is likely that the changes in climate that occurred in the Pleistocene significantly reduced the squad of sirens.

In the structure of their skull and teeth, there is a resemblance to primitive proboscis and hyraxes. Apparently, the ancestors of the sirens were land animals close to the original forms of proboscis, hyraxes and ungulates.

The name of the sirens comes from the sirens from Greek mythology, as from a distance they are easily confused with bathing people. However, the singing of the legendary sirens does not suit these animals in any way. Although Christopher Columbus was not the first person to see sirens, it is known that he mentioned them in his diary in 1493. Sirens(lat. Sirenia) - herbivores marine mammals, creatures are meek, absolutely safe and also practically silent.

dugong

Sea, or Steller's, cows (Hydrodamalis), manatees (Trichechidae) and dugongs (Dugongidae) are representatives of three families of animals that unite in a small order of sirens (Sirenia). They descended from proboscis animals, their most distant ancestor is considered eoterium (a terrestrial fossil animal). Another confirmation that the sirens existed many millions of years ago and led a terrestrial lifestyle was recently received by American paleontologists who found in Jamaica the remains of an ancestor of the Steller's cow, whose age is at least 50 million years. This discovery helped restore the evolutionary chain of transformation of land dwellers into marine inhabitants. The skeleton of the fossil animal had a length of more than 2 meters, while its body, according to scientists, should have weighed at least 100 kg and had powerful, well-developed limbs. Wherein anatomical features let him live in the water. According to one of the scientific hypotheses, sea cows rushed from land to water for a new food source - sea grass and gradually began to spend most of their lives there. Over time, manatees developed fins and their hind legs were replaced by a tail.

In the evolutionary series, modern mammals are between cetaceans and pinnipeds. In memory of their terrestrial ancestors, manatees retained lungs, limbs that were transformed into flippers, and a flat, rounded tail. It is noteworthy that three flat nails have been preserved at the tips of their flippers, but on land these animals cannot move even by crawling.

Manatees are staunch vegetarians. Thanks to a very heavy skeleton, they easily sink to the bottom, where they feed on algae and grasses, eating a huge amount of them. Manatees grind their food with 20 teeth. The incisors are lost early, but horny plates develop in their place, with which animals deftly grab and grind food. During feeding, they pull algae towards themselves with flippers and, pressing an armful to their body, they absorb long green stems with constant appetite. Sometimes manatees pluck even some coastal plants. However, no matter how great their desire to feast on a fresh twig, they cannot get out onto land. After eating, it's time to rest. Manatees sleep in shallow water with their back above the water and their tail on the bottom, or, using densely intertwined algae as a hammock, hang in the water. Sleeping or dozing they can be seen at any time of the day, but only in the most secluded and quiet places.

Usually, a female manatee has one cub every 3-5 years, very rarely twins. After mating, the male does not leave the female until the baby is born. Pregnancy lasts about 9 months. The peak birth rate is in April-May. Childbirth takes place under water. A newly born manatee is about 1 meter long and weighs 20-30 kg. Immediately after birth, the mother lifts the cub on her back to the surface of the water so that he takes his first breath. For about 45 minutes, the baby usually remains lying on the mother's back, gradually coming to his senses, and then they are again immersed in the water.

A sea cow feeds her child with milk underwater. Well-developed nipples located on the chest often misled many sailors who mistook them for mermaids. Both parents take part in the initial upbringing of the cub, affectionately hugging him with flippers and rolling on his back when he gets tired. Further, for two years, the baby remains under the vigilant care of the female. Puberty in manatees occurs at 3-4 years of age.

The family of manatees includes three species: American (Trichechus manatus), living along the coast from Florida to Brazil, African (T. senegalensis), living near river banks Equatorial Africa, and the Amazonian (T. inunguis), who has chosen the Amazon, Orinoco and their tributaries.

The body length of manatees reaches 4 meters, they weigh about 400 kilograms, although individual males can reach 700. The body of the animals is fusiform, ending in a horizontal rounded caudal fin. The forelimbs are turned into flexible pectoral fins, and in place of the hind limbs there are only vestiges of the femur and pelvic bones. There is also no dorsal fin. The head is small, very mobile, without auricles, with small eyes covered with a gelatinous mass. Studies have shown that manatees have poor eyesight. But they have sensitive hearing and, judging by the large olfactory lobes of the brain, a good sense of smell. Manatees have two distinctive features. Firstly, they have 6 cervical vertebrae, while other mammals have 7. And secondly, the heart of manatees in relation to their body weight is the smallest among all representatives of the animal world - it is 1,000 times lighter than their weight.

Manatees are very thermophilic creatures. If the water temperature drops below +8 degrees, they are doomed to death. Therefore, in winter they bask in warm currents, straying into larger flocks. These extremely peaceful animals also have enemies. IN tropical rivers- these are caimans, in the sea - sharks. Usually slow, manatees, defending themselves, show activity that is rare for them.

But the greatest threat to the life of these animals, which are already quite rare, is still posed by a person who is gradually forcing them out of their ecological niche, thereby depriving them of living space. Manatees are often destroyed for the sake of tasty meat and valuable fat, which is used in the preparation of medicinal ointments and cosmetic preparations, and this, despite the laws prohibiting their shooting and trapping, adopted in the United States as early as 1893, and in Guyana in 1926.

Once calm waters the local rivers, lakes and seas are now cut through by boats and motor boats, and often peacefully grazing manatees fall under their propellers. Many die from their wounds, and terrible scars cross the backs of the survivors. Fishing hooks and nets also cause great trouble for these animals. Relatively recently, special warning signs appeared on the coasts: “Caution! Manatee habitat! Cross very carefully!"

Apparently, people are still able to learn from their mistakes, which means that there is hope that these gullible and completely harmless creatures of Nature will continue to live on our planet.

Ksenia Cherkashina

Sirens are the third largest taxon of aquatic mammals. Unlike seals, however, they cannot move on land due to the weakness of their limbs. They cannot be compared to whales either, as they usually live in shallow coastal waters or even fresh water.

Sirens are massive animals with a cylindrical body. Their forelimbs turned into fins, and the hind limbs completely disappeared during evolution, their remains cannot be established even in the skeleton. Sirens do not have a dorsal fin, like some species of whales. The tail has changed into a flat rear fin. The skin is very thick and wrinkled, there is no hairline. The muzzle is long, but flattened, not pointed. She is surrounded by hard and sensitive whiskers, with which the sirens touch objects. The nostrils are relatively high. The volume of the lungs is regulated independently of each other, which allows you to shift the center of gravity and increases stability. Compared to the body, the head is quite large, however, the volume of the brain in relation to the size of the body is one of the smallest among all mammals. The number and shape of teeth in individual genera of sirens varies greatly. The incisors are often found in a degenerate form, and canine teeth are absent in all extant species. The front of the palate is covered with calloused layers, which probably aids in eating. The short tongue is also calloused.

Sirens live alone or in small groups. They always move slowly and carefully. Their food is exclusively vegetarian in nature and consists of seagrass and algae. Since the molars are constantly abraded by the sand that has settled on the algae eaten, teeth growing deeper in the mouth take the place of the worn teeth. The life expectancy of sirens is about twenty years.

Evolution

Sirens have common land ancestors with proboscis and hyraxes. The earliest known fossils of siren-like animals date from the early Eocene and are about 50 million years old. These animals were tetrapods and herbivores, still able to move on land, but already living mainly in shallow water. Subsequently, the ancestors of the sirens were very successful and widespread animals, as evidenced by numerous fossilized remains. The hind limbs disappeared fairly quickly, with a horizontal hind fin developing instead.

Families formed in the Eocene Prorastomidae († ), Protosirenidae(† ) and dugongs ( Dugongidae). According to the opinion prevailing among zoologists, manatees appeared only in the Miocene. There were no traces of the first two families already in the Oligocene, since then the order of sirens has been divided into only two families. In the Miocene and Pliocene, sirens were much more numerous and diverse than they are today. It is likely that the changes in climate that occurred during the Pleistocene significantly reduced the squad of sirens.

Systematics

The two families of sirens are:

• dugong ( Dugongidae) consists of a single living species - dugongs. About 250 years ago, there was another species - Steller's cow, which is now extinct.
• Manatees ( Trichechiidae) - contains three types:
  • African manatee ( Trichechus senegalensis)
  • Amazonian manatee ( Trichechus inunguis)
  • American manatee ( Trichechus manatus)
  • Pygmy manatee ( Trichechus bernhardi)

Sirens and people

The name of the sirens comes from the sirens from Greek mythology, since from a distance they are easily confused with bathing people. However, the singing of the legendary sirens does not suit these animals in any way. Although Christopher Columbus was not the first person to see sirens, it is known that he mentioned them in his diary in 1493.

All modern views sirens are considered endangered. The main danger for them is motor boats, which, with their propellers, seriously cripple these shallow-water-loving animals. Another threat is human destruction of the environment and penetration into their traditional habitats. Because of their metabolism, sirens need in large numbers algae, and their presence is directly related to water quality, which is increasingly falling due to human influence.

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Let's talk about almost mythical creatures living in our days in sea ​​depths planet Earth. It will be about the mysterious animals related to Siren squad . The very name "siren" in most people is associated with mythological creatures ancient world- beautiful water maidens - half-fish, who lured sailors with their magnificent appearance and singing, and then ruthlessly killed them. Who are the sirens, what do they look like, and do they exist in nature at all, you ask. Let's take a closer look siren squad and its representatives.

Siren Squad: Habitat

Sirens do exist, but they are not at all beautiful maidens - half-humans, half-fish. These are marine mammals that are fully adapted to life in sea ​​water. Sirens lat. Sirenia) is a detachment of marine plant-eating mammals that belong to the class Mammals, the infraclass Placentals and the superorder Afrotheria. These animals live exclusively in water (mostly in the sea) and never go to land.

Animals related to Siren squad , rather large in size, but unlike cetaceans, they prefer to stay in shallow water, and sometimes go into freshwater rivers and lakes connected to them. They live in hot tropical subtropical climate. Africa is considered the ancestral home of these animals, scientists consider hyraxes and proboscis to be their closest relatives.

Amazonian manatees

Origin

Biologists suggest that the ancestors of animals belonging to Siren squad , are terrestrial herbivorous mammals that lived in areas of shallow water and lived during the Eocene period, according to numerous fossils found. The age of ancient artifacts - the fossilized remains of the ancestors of the Sirens, is about 50 million years old. It is also assumed among scientists that in the process of evolution, the hind limbs of these aquatic mammals disappeared quite quickly, and a horizontal fin formed instead.

Dugong and stick fish

It is believed that three families formed during the Eocene period Siren squad: Prorastomidae, Protosirenidae and Dugongidae (Dugongidae), while Trichechidae (Manatees) appeared later, only in the Miocene. So as you can see siren squad a very ancient detachment of mammals, among all that exist on our planet at the present time. The two families Prorastomidae and Protosirenidae from the order under consideration are completely extinct and do not currently exist.

Classification

In modern worldsiren squad represented by two families:

• the first Dugong family (lat. Dugongidae) consisting of a single species - the dugong;

• the second family of Manatees (lat. Trichechidae), consisting of four kinds:

- African manatee (lat. Trichechus senegalensis);

- American manatee (lat. Trichechus manatus);

- Amazonian manatee (lat. Trichechus inunguis);

- Dwarf manatee (lat. Trichechus bernhardi).

manatees

Appearance

All animals related to detachment Sirens have a massive and very clumsy cylindrical body. The forelimbs in the process of evolution have changed a lot and turned into fins, shaped like cetacean fins. The hind limbs are completely gone. The tail of the sirens also has the shape of a fin. The entire body of these ancient animals is covered with very thick, completely hairless skin, which forms three-dimensional folds.

The muzzle is elongated and has a somewhat "chopped off" appearance, with stiff mustache decorations. It must be said that these whiskers serve the sirens not so much as decorations, but as the main organs of touch.

Interestingly, the volume of the lungs in these animals can be regulated in each half independently of each other, the change in the center of gravity depends on this, which the sirens can change at will and control the stability of their body.

The number of teeth in these aquatic mammals varies, and the palate and relatively short, thick tongue are covered with a calloused, somewhat keratinized layer, which likely favors the consumption of tough aquatic plants.

manatees

Lifestyle

It should be noted that animals Siren squad are not herd animals. They either live alone or try to stay in small groups, only when they are in areas that are abundant in terms of feeding. It is sometimes noted that after mating season these animals keep pairs on long years, but it happens that they become devoted to each other until the end of their lives.

American manatees

The diet of these aquatic mammals consists exclusively of various aquatic plants, and a very small number of small crabs, which are likely to be caught by accident. Like all other aquatic mammals, animals belonging to Siren squad , despite their clumsiness, they are very mobile and fast in the water, but they try to avoid great depths.

On this short story, perhaps, we will finish the article on the amazing aquatic mammals that make up siren squad . In the future, we will continue to get acquainted with individual representatives of this detachment.

manatees

And in conclusion, I bring to your attention interesting documentaries, telling about the life of mysterious animals related to Siren squad