Antillean manatee ©M.Dewynter/CARIMAM

West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus)© P. Rose

- TAXONOMY
Class : Mammalia
Order : Sirenia
Family : Trichechidae
Common names :
English : Caribbean or Antillean manatee / Florida manatee
Spanish : Manatí antillano o caribeño / Manatí de Florida
French : Lamantin des Antilles ou des Caraïbes / Lamantin de Floride

- MORPHOLOGY AND BEHAVIOR
Morphology : large and rounded body without neck and beak, with a large, spoon-shaped tail and paired flippers ended by 4-5 short nails. The two subspecies cannot be differentiated in the field, only cranial measurements allow it.
Color and patterns : gray skin often colonized by an algal film and/or barnacles, and bristled with hairs.
Body Size : 3-4 m
Confusion with other species : the Amazon manatee (Trichechus inunguis) is smaller, darker and has a white ventral patch. However, some Antillean manatee, in Belize and Mexico, have been seen with the white ventral patch.
Group size : usually single individuals or mother-calf pairs or groups of few individuals.
Specific behavior : elusive animal with a quiet behavior, that usually only shows its snout or back in quiet waters. In clear waters, its massive body stands out well in transparency.
Feeding : herbivore with a broad food spectrum, including grass, mangrove leaves, algae and various aquatic plants such as water hyacinth.

- DISTRIBUTION
Global distribution : The Antillean manatee can be observed from the North of Mexico to Northeast Brazil, but also around the islands of the Greater Antilles. It is regionally extinct in the Lesser Antilles.
The Florida manatee is observed in the USA, from the state of Texas to that of Virginia.
Both subspecies can be observed in coastal areas and in river mouths, but the Antillean manatee can also swim up rivers up to several dozen kilometers from the coast.
In the south of its range, hybridization has been observed with the Amazonian manatee.

- CONSERVATION
Threats recorded in the Wider Caribbean region : bycatch in active and ghost fishing nets, poaching and hunting, and coastal habitat degradation (destruction, water pollution).
IUCN status : The species Trichechus manatus is classified as VU (Vulnerable) globally scale, but both subspecies are classified as EN (Endangered) in their respective ranges. The subspecies m. manatus is even classified as CR (Critically Endangered) in the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Venezuela regional red lists.
SPAW status : classified in annex II of the Spaw Protocol since 1991.

Sources  :
International Whaling Commission
IUCN (2021) The IUCN redlist of threatened species.
IUCN and Zoological Society of London (2012) National Red Lists
Jefferson T.A., Webber M.A., Pitman R.L. (2015) Marine mammals of the world : a comprehensive guide to their identification. Academic Press.
Kaschner, K., Reeves, R. (2011) LifeWeb species distribution factsheets.
NOOA (2021) Species fact sheets - Marine mammals.
Ocean Science & Logistic (2020) Guide des cétacés de Guyane française. OSL, canopée des Science, Cayenne, Guyane française.
Savouré-Soubelet A., Aulagnier S., Haffner P., et al. (coord.) (2016) Atlas des mammifères sauvages de France volume 1 : Mammifères marins. Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris ; IRD, Marseille.
Society for marine mammalogy-Species fact sheets
SPAW-RAC. (2020). Implementation of the Action Plan for Marine Mammals in the Wider Caribbean Region : A Scientific and Technical Analysis. Authored by Vail, C. and Borobia, M. UNEP, SPAW-RAC.
Ward, N., Bogomolni, A., Potter, C. (2013) A stranding guide to marine mammals of the Wider Caribbean region : An introduction field for stranding responders. Gecko Production Inc. ISBN : 978-1-891694-00-4.