Sirenia \Si*re"ni*a\, n. pl. [NL.]
(Zo["o]l.)
An order of large aquatic herbivorous mammals, including the
manatee, dugong, rytina, and several fossil genera.
Note: The hind limbs are either rudimentary or wanting, and
the front ones are changed to paddles. They have horny
plates on the front part of the jaws, and usually
flat-crowned molar teeth. The stomach is complex and
the intestine long, as in other herbivorous mammals.
See Cetacea (b) .
Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) |