- West African Manatee
Taxobox
name = West African Manatee
status = VU
status_system = iucn3.1
trend = unknown
regnum =Animal ia
phylum = Chordata
subphylum = Vertebrata
classis =Mammalia
ordo =Sirenia
familia =Trichechidae
genus = "Trichechus "
species = "T. senegalensis"
binomial = "Trichechus senegalensis"
binomial_authority = Link,1795 The West African Manatee ("Trichechus senegalensis") is a species ofmanatee , and is the least studied of the four species ofSirenian s. Photos of West African Manatees are very rare; although very little is known about this species, scientists think they are similar to theWest Indian Manatee s. They are found in coastal marine and estuarine habitats, and in fresh water river systems along the west coast ofAfrica from theSenegal River south to theKwanza River inAngola , including areas inGambia ,Liberia ,Guinea-Bissau ,Guinea ,Sierra Leone ,Côte d'Ivoire ,Ghana ,Mali ,Nigeria ,Cameroon ,Chad ,Gabon ,Republic of the Congo , andDemocratic Republic of the Congo . Althoughcrocodile s andshark s occasionally kill manatees in Africa, their only significant threats are from humankind, such as poaching, habitat loss, and other environmental impacts.They live as far upstream the
Niger River asSégou ,Mali . [ [http://www.iucnredlist.org/search/details.php/22104/all Trichecus senegalensis] The World Conservation Union] Although rare, they occasionally get stranded as the river dries up at the end of rainy season and are cooked for a meal. The name in Songhai, the local language, is "ayyu". A landlocked colony of manatees also lives inLake Lere in southwestern Chad near the Cameroonian border -- something of an anomaly given that the lake is hundreds of miles inland and not connected to the sea in any way.ee also
*
Sirenia
*Evolution of sirenians References
External links
* Database entry includes justification for why this species is vulnerable
*MSW3 Shoshani|pages=93
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