#0257 · 🦊 mammals
West Indian Manatee
🇳🇱 Caribische Lamantijn ·Trichechus manatus
10 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences
- 1. © U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters · CC BY 4.0
- 2. © Phil's 1stPix · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
- 3. © ungerlord · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 4. © Szecska · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
- 5. © linimini · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 6. © Stephanie Michelle Soto · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 7. New Jersey, US:© no rights reserved · CC0
- 8. Massachusetts, US:© mark_fallon · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 9. Volusia County, US-FL, US:© Phil's 1stPix · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 10. Florida, US:© Brian Garrett · CC BY-NC 4.0
what is it?
The West Indian manatee ( Trichechus manatus ) or "sea cow" is a manatee, and the largest surviving member of the aquatic mammal order Sirenia (which also includes the dugong and the extinct Steller's sea cow).
base stats
Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).
fun facts
- No confirmed wild sightings in the Netherlands on iNaturalist: you'd have to travel for this one.
- 12,026 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
- Scientifically named in 1758 (268 years ago).
- Listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.
fact sheet
- English
- West Indian Manatee
- Nederlands
- Caribische Lamantijn
- scientific name
- Trichechus manatus
- class
- Mammalia
- order
- Sirenia
- family
- Trichechidae
- IUCN Red List
- VU · vulnerable
- sightings in NL
- 0
- sightings worldwide
- 12,026
- GBIF records in NL
- 0
- weight
- —
- length
- —
- lifespan
- —
- named
- 1758
IUCN in Dutch: kwetsbaar. Blank means the sources don't say.
Sources: iNaturalist taxon 46316, Wikidata Q40261, GBIF 2435296, Wikipedia (EN), Wikipedia (NL). Intro text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.