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The Mammals
of Texas - Online Edition ORDER SIRENIA: MANATEE AND ALLIES The Sirenia are large, plump, torpedo-shaped mammals adapted to an aquatic habitat; they live in the bays and coastal waters in tropical regions of the world. Front limbs developed into paddles; hind limbs absent externally; tail expanded into a rounded, horizontal fluke; muzzle truncate; skin naked except for stiff bristles on the muzzle; nostrils separate and valvular; eyes and mouth small; bones dense and heavy; two mammary glands, pectoral in position; testes abdominal.
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