Steller's Sea Cow
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Steller's Sea Cow | |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Sirenia |
| Family: | Dugongidae |
| Subfamily: | †Hydrodamalinae Palmer, 1895 |
| Genus: | †Hydrodamalis Retzius, 1794 |
| Species: | †H. gigas |
| Binomial name | |
| Hydrodamalis gigas (Zimmermann, 1780) |
|
Steller's sea cow (Hydrodamalis gigas) is a extinct mammal are member of the order Sirenia (today consisting of dugongs and manatees) discovered in 1741. They weighed approximately 10 tonnes, fed on kelp, and lived in shallow waters around the Bering Sea. Hunted relentlessly for their meat, they died out within 27 years of their discovery. The reduction in their kelp food supply may also have contributed to their extinction.
