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West Indian manatee, Trichechus manatus
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West Indian manatee, Trichechus manatus
West Indian manatee, Trichechus manatus, and dugong, Dugong dugon. Handcoloured copperplate engraving from Rene Primevere Lessons Complements de Buffon, Pourrat Freres, Paris, 1838
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Media ID 23188542
© Florilegius/Mary Evans
Americanus Buffon Complements Dugong Indicus Lesson Manatee Manatus Primevere Rene Trichechus Dugon
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This hand-colored copperplate engraving, taken from Rene Primevere's "Lessons Complements de Buffon," published by Pourrat Freres in Paris in 1838, showcases three remarkable aquatic mammals: the West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus), the West Indian manatee's close relative, the dugong or sea cow (Dugong dugon), and the humpbacked or Indian manatee (Trichechus indianus, now known as Trichechus inflatus). The West Indian manatee, depicted in the center of the image, is a large, grayish aquatic mammal native to the coastal and inland waters of the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, and the northeastern coast of South America. Manatees are also known as sea cows due to their slow, lumbering movements and their herbivorous diet. The dugong, shown on the left side of the image, is a large, grayish-brown, and rather hippopotamus-like marine mammal that inhabits the shallow waters of the Indian and western Pacific Oceans. It is also called a sea cow or a "fakkani" in some local languages. The dugong is the only living representative of the family Dugongidae and is the only herbivorous marine mammal. The humpbacked manatee, shown on the right side of the image, is a large, grayish-brown manatee with a distinctive hump on its back. It is found in the coastal and inland waters of the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean, from Angola to South Africa. This manatee species was once considered a separate species but is now recognized as a subspecies of the West Indian manatee. This beautiful and intricately detailed engraving is a testament to the natural history illustration techniques of the 19th century. It not only showcases the appearance of these fascinating aquatic mammals but also provides valuable records of their morphology and distribution during a time when exploration and scientific discovery were at the forefront of human endeavor.
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