Any of three species (family Trichechidae) of slow-moving, shallow-water herbivorous mammals.
Manatees have a tapered body ending in a rounded flipper, no hind flippers, and foreflippers near the head. The Caribbean manatee ( Trichechus manatus ) lives along coasts of the southeastern U.S. and northern South America; the Amazonian manatee ( T. inunguis ) and the West African manatee ( T. senegalensis ) inhabit rivers and estuaries. Adults are 8–15 ft (2.5–4.5 m) long and weigh up to 1,500 lbs (700 kg). Manatees live singly or in small herds and are protected by law in most areas. The manatee or its relative, the dugong , may have given rise to the folklore of mermaids. See also sea cow .