Trichechus manatus   Linnaeus, 1758

West Indian manatee

Native range | All suitable habitat | Point map | Year 2050
This map was computer-generated and has not yet been reviewed.
Trichechus manatus  AquaMaps  Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Trichechus manatus

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | CoL | ITIS | WoRMS

Mammalia | Sirenia | Trichechidae

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Demersal; freshwater; brackish; depth range 0 - 13 m (Ref. 116169), usually 2 - 5 m (Ref. 81178).  Tropical; 38°N - 21°S, 89°W - 35°W

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Western Atlantic: Trichechus manatus manatus: from the coasts and rivers of Mexico to as far south to Rio Doce, Brazil including the Orinoco and Amazon; Trichechus manatus latirostris: from the Florida Peninsula to Rhode Island. Tropical to temperate.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm Max length : 390 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 1394); max. published weight: 1.6 t (Ref. 1394)

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Found in coastal marine, brackish and freshwater areas. Feeds on aquatic plants, (i.e. water hyacinths and marine seagrasses, algae, parts of mangrove trees, floating and shoreline vegetation); invertebrates (i.e. tunicates); and fish they remove from fishing nets (Ref. 1394).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Main reference References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Jefferson, T.A., S. Leatherwood and M.A. Webber. 1993. (Ref. 1394)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)

  Vulnerable (VU) (C1); Date assessed: 30 June 2008

CITES status (Ref. 108899)


CMS (Ref. 116361)


Threat to humans

Human uses

Fisheries: commercial
FAO - Fisheries: species profile | FishSource | Sea Around Us

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More information

Trophic Ecology
Food items
Diet
Food consumption
Ration
Predators
Ecology
Ecology
Home ranges
Population dynamics
Growth
Age/Size
Length-weight
Length-length
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Recruitment
Abundance
Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturity
Fecundity
Spawning
Eggs
Egg development
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Human Related
Aquaculture profile
Stamps, Coins Misc.
Outreach
Taxonomy
References

Internet sources

BHL | BOLD Systems | CISTI | DiscoverLife | FAO(Fisheries: species profile; publication : search) | Fishipedia | GenBank (genome, nucleotide) | GloBI | Gomexsi | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | PubMed | Tree of Life | Wikipedia (Go, Search) | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969): 22.9 - 28, mean 26.5 (based on 562 cells).
Vulnerability (Ref. 71543): Very high vulnerability (90 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766): Unknown.