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Steller's sea cow facts for kids

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Steller's sea cow
Hydrodamalis gigas skeleton - Finnish Museum of Natural History - DSC04529.JPG
Skeleton at the Finnish Museum of Natural History
Conservation status

Extinct  (1768) (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Phylum:
Class:
Order:
Family:
Dugongidae
Subfamily:
Hydrodamalinae
Genus:
Hydrodamalis
Binomial name
Hydrodamalis gigas

Steller's sea cow (Hydrodamalis gigas) is an extinct aquatic mammal.

It is a member of the order Sirenia, which today consists of dugongs and manatees. Discovered in 1741, Steller's sea cow weighed about 10 tonnes. It fed on kelp, and lived in shallow waters around the Bering Sea. Hunted relentlessly for their meat, they died out 27 years after their discovery. The reduction in the kelp supply may also have contributed to their extinction.


Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Hydrodamalis gigas para niños

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