Sirenia

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A group of large, fully aquatic, herbivorous mammals including manatees and dugongs, characterized by paddle-like flippers and a slow-moving nature, primarily inhabiting warm coastal waters
2. Marine mammals known for their gentle disposition and plant-based diet, with smooth bodies and flippers adapted to swimming, comprising the manatees and dugongs found in tropical and subtropical seas
3. An order of aquatic, herbivorous mammals possessing fusiform bodies and flippers, feeding mostly on seagrasses and living in shallow oceanic and riverine environments, represented by species such as manatees and dugongs

Etymology: The name comes from the Sirens of Greek myth, the sea creatures whose singing lured sailors to their deaths. The link is a story of mistaken identity. Early sailors who glimpsed sirenians, which were sometimes called "Sirenia" by the naturalists who classified them, reportedly took these animals for the mythical mermaid-like singers. Their resemblance to a human form at the surface, paired with a sometimes-audible vocalization, seems to have fuelled the comparison. The scientific name was given by the naturalist who grouped the animals into an order, and the Greek root is the same one behind the Sirens, the "seirenes" of Homer's world. Because the animals were so unlike the swimming mammals around them, the classification drew on a myth rather than on any ancient word for them.

Synonyms: sea cows, manatees, dugongs