The Truth of Manatee Evolution

The manatees and the dugong are among the most beloved creatures on our planet. They have some fascinating anatomy and an even more fascinating evolutionary history, originating more than 50 million years ago. So, let’s dive into the evolution of these wonderful creatures, exploring their rich fossil record and how they went from living on land to becoming rotund, dense-boned underwater lawnmowers. Subscribe to my mum's channel One World:    / @oneworldnt   🌿 Learn about seagrass:    • It Survived 100 Million Years. Will It Sur...   Thumbnail art: Joschua Knüppe 📰 Subscribe to 7 Days of Science:    / @7daysofscience   👕 Visit our merch store: https://ben-g-thomas-shop.fourthwall.com ⭐ Become a Channel Member or support us on Patreon for behind-the-scenes, bloopers, extra adventures and more! Become a Member:    / @bengthomas   Join the 7 Days of Science Patreon:   / 7daysofscience   Join our Discord server:   / discord   Follow us on Instagram: http://bit.ly/1PIEagv Follow us on TikTok:   / bengthomas   Music by Geographer Subscribe to explore the wonderful life around you! 📱 Social Media: ►Instagram: http://bit.ly/1PIEagv ►TikTok:   / bengthomas   ►Twitter:   / bengthomas42   ►Subreddit:   / bengthomas   Sources: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science... https://www.nature.com/articles/35098072 https://www.nature.com/articles/s4159... https://www.sciencedirect.com/science... https://journals.plos.org/plosone/art... https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wil... https://journals.plos.org/plosone/art... https://journals.plos.org/plosone/art... https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/1... https://www.researchgate.net/publicat... https://web.archive.org/web/200612310... https://web.archive.org/web/201305112... https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wil... https://www.researchgate.net/publicat... https://www.nature.com/articles/s4146... https://journals.plos.org/plosone/art... https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/... https://www.google.co.uk/books/editio... https://www.sciencedirect.com/science... https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-... https://www.app.pan.pl/article/item/a... https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/1... https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/... https://www.sciencedirect.com/science... https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rs... https://web.archive.org/web/201610201... https://bioone.org/journals/paleontol... https://academic.oup.com/sysbio/artic... https://www.academia.edu/145159996/80... https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wil... https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/1... https://www.sciencedirect.com/science... https://peerj.com/articles/13886/ https://www.sci.news/paleontology/sal... https://peerj.com/articles/20030/ 0:00 - Intro 0:38 - What are sea cows? 3:41 - Anatomy of sirenians 8:14 - Early sea cow evolution 14:13 - Hydrodamalinae (Steller's sea cow) 16:43 - Dugonginae (Dugong lineage) 19:06 - Trichechidae (Manatee lineage) 22:19 - Seagrass evolution 24:55 - Conclusion