New Dwarf Manatee
Posted by: Loren Coleman on October 14th, 2007
A new small manatee has been discovered in South America.
Please click on the poster above to increase its size for easier reading.
For more information on the efforts underway to defend the manatee’s discoverer Marc Roosmalen against the allegedly fictional charges he is facing in Brazil, visit http://www.marcvanroosmalen.org/howtohelp.htm.
Thanks to Darren Naish for alerting me to this new species and Marc’s new legal defense site.
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they so cute!
I once read a claim that in this day and age, there cannot be anymore large animals out there to be discovered, besides the stuff lurking around in the deep oceans.
And lo and behold, they go and find a manatee, which, if it’s like its larger cousin, is not prone to evading detection.
So what else is out there?
Most fascinating discovery since the Ocapi?
*weeps* oh, the huge manatee!
Oh, its actualy small……
Very cute. It is sad that it is on the verge of extinction already.
I wonder if BigFoot will be classified the same if ever proven real ?
Great discovery. The only thing that worries me is that along the whole of the Amazon, right now there is only one area that seems to support a viable population of these creatures. As far as the size of the new species in contrast to their bigger freshwater cousins, it is interesting to me that while some species have adopted giganticism as a survival adaptation, still others have gone the other way with dwarfism. Both have their advantages and it is fascinating that even animals closely related will diverge into those species that have developed size and those that have lost it. The variety of ways life adjusts to the environment is truly amazing.
As for the Amazon, I feel quite certain that we are not done seeing discoveries from there. I hold it as a prime area for having the potential to hold large creatures gliding through its murky waters. There are vast stretches that are little travelled and poorly documented. I look forward to some possibly thrilling discoveries there in the future.
Um, I’m confused.
Species? Or subspecies? Both claims seem to be made, with neither referencing the other.
I understand “identical halotype” to mean, at best, subspecies. And when one says “sub-specific and even specific,” one is not, exactly, making a conclusive announcement of a new species.
Still, splitting hairs can only go so far. If the pictured animal is adult, that’s a different manatee, whatever science calls it.
I would say it’s a new species not a subspecies, because of the great difference in size and the fact that it has been genetically isolated for thousands of years.