West African Manatee

The African manatee (Trichechus senegalensis), also known as the West African manatee, is a species of manatee that inhabits much of Western Africa – from Senegal to Angola. It is the only manatee species to be found in the Old World, as well as one of the two living Sirenians that live in the Old World, the other being the Dugong. == Taxonomy == The African manatee was officially declared a species under the Trichechus senegalensis taxon in 1795 by naturalist Johann Heinrich Friedrich Link. No subspecies of this taxon are known. Although African manatees live in both coastal areas and isolated inland areas, genetic evidence suggests no significant differences between the two populations. The African manatee falls under the genus Trichechus with only two other species, the Amazonian manatee and the West Indian manatee, which are also sirenians. == Range and habitat == African manatees inhabit the widest ranges of habitats of any sirenian species, ranging from offshore islands in the Atlantic to rivers in the western Sahel, equatorial rainforest rivers, and so on. It has been reported that coastal populations ascend rivers during the rainy season and descend again during the dry season. The movement and habitat of…