Steller's Sea Cow
Conservation status
Extinct  (1768)
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 an extinct, large sirenian mammal formerly found near the Asiatic coast of the Bering Sea. It was discovered in the Commander Islands in 1741 by the german naturalist Georg Steller, who was traveling with the explorer Vitus Bering. A small population lived in the arctic waters around Bering Island and nearby Copper Island. However, prior to the arrival of humans they lived all along the North Pacific coast. Image File history File links Hydrodamalis_gigas_drawing. ... The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species continuing to survive either in the present day or the future. ... Image File history File links Status_none_EX.svg‎ Graphic diagram for the IUCN Red List categories. ... For other uses, see Extinction (disambiguation). ... 1768 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... For other uses, see Scientific classification (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Animal (disambiguation). ... Typical Classes Subphylum Urochordata - Tunicates Ascidiacea Thaliacea Larvacea Subphylum Cephalochordata - Lancelets Subphylum Myxini - Hagfishes Subphylum Vertebrata - Vertebrates Petromyzontida - Lampreys Placodermi (extinct) Chondrichthyes - Cartilaginous fishes Acanthodii (extinct) Actinopterygii - Ray-finned fishes Actinistia - Coelacanths Dipnoi - Lungfishes Amphibia - Amphibians Reptilia - Reptiles Aves - Birds Mammalia - Mammals Chordates (phylum Chordata) include the vertebrates, together with... Subclasses & Infraclasses Subclass †Allotheria* Subclass Prototheria Subclass Theria Infraclass †Trituberculata Infraclass Metatheria Infraclass Eutheria Mammals (class Mammalia) are warm-blooded, vertebrate animals characterized by the presence of sweat glands, including those that produce milk, and by the presence of: hair, three middle ear bones used in hearing, and a neocortex... Families Dugongidae Trichechidae Hydrochichus (extinct) For information about the Gothic metal band, see Sirenia (band) The Sirenia are fully aquatic, herbivorous mammals that inhabit rivers, estuaries and coastal marine waters. ... Binomial name Dugong dugon (Müller, 1776) Dugongs (Dugong dugon) are the smallest members of the order Sirenia (which also includes the manatees ). Adults are generally less than 3 meters long. ... Theodore Sherman Palmer (1868 - 1955) was an American zoologist. ... Year 1895 (MDCCCXCV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Anders Jahan Retzius (October 3, 1742 - October 6, 1821) was a Swedish chemist, botanist and entomologist born in Kristianstad on October 3, 1742. ... 1794 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Eberhard August Wilhelm von Zimmermann (August 17, 1743 - July 4, 1815) was a German geographer and zoologist. ... 1780 was a leap year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... In biology and ecology, extinction is the ceasing of existence of a species or group of species. ... Families Dugongidae Trichechidae Hydrochichus (extinct) For information about the Gothic metal band, see Sirenia (band) The Sirenia are fully aquatic, herbivorous mammals that inhabit rivers, estuaries and coastal marine waters. ... Subclasses & Infraclasses Subclass †Allotheria* Subclass Prototheria Subclass Theria Infraclass †Trituberculata Infraclass Metatheria Infraclass Eutheria Mammals (class Mammalia) are warm-blooded, vertebrate animals characterized by the presence of sweat glands, including those that produce milk, and by the presence of: hair, three middle ear bones used in hearing, and a neocortex... Satellite photo of the Bering Sea Bering Sea and the North Pacific Ocean Bearing Sea with Kamchatka Peninsula and Alaska The Bering (or Imarpik) Sea is a body of water north of, and separated from, the north Pacific Ocean by the Alaska Peninsula and Aleutian Islands. ... // Events April 10 - Austrian army attack troops of Frederick the Great at Mollwitz August 10 - Raja of Travancore defeats Dutch East India Company naval expedition at Battle of Colachel December 19 - Vitus Bering dies in his expedition east of Siberia December 25 - Anders Celsius develops his own thermometer scale Celsius... Georg Wilhelm Steller (March 10, 1709 - November 14, 1746) was a Russian botanist, zoologist, physician and explorer of German origin. ... A portrait attributed to Vitus Bering (according to modern data, his uncles portrait) Vitus Jonassen Bering (also, less correctly, Behring) (August 1681–December 19, 1741) was a Danish-born navigator in the service of the Russian Navy, a captain-komandor known among the Russian sailors as Ivan Ivanovich. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Mednyi Island (Russian Ostrov Mednyi or Copper Island), sometimes called in English Copper Island, is one of two islands in the Komandorski Islands east of Russia. ... For other meanings of pacific, see pacific (disambiguation). ...

Description

Drawing of Steller's Sea Cow, by Georg Steller.

The sea cow grew up to 7.9 meters (25.9 ft) long^[1] and weighed up to three tons,^[2] much larger than the manatee or dugong. Steller's work contains two contradictory weights: 4 and 24.3 tons. The true value may lie between these figures.^[3] It looked somewhat like a large seal, but had two stout forelimbs and a whale-like tail. According to Steller, "The animal never comes out on shore, but always lives in the water. Its skin is black and thick, like the bark of an old oak..., its head in proportion to the body is small..., it has no teeth, but only two flat white bones—one above, the other below". It was completely tame, according to Steller. They fed on a variety of kelp. Wherever sea cows had been feeding, heaps of stalks and roots of kelp were washed ashore. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... For other uses, see Manatee (disambiguation). ... Binomial name (Müller, 1776) Natural range of . ... subfamilies Otariidae Phocidae Odobenidae Pinnipeds are large marine mammals belonging to the Pinnipedia, a family (sometimes a suborder or superfamily, depending on the classification scheme) of the order Carnivora. ...

Population and extinction

Herd of Steller's Sea Cows on a painting from 1902.

The population of sea cows was small in number and limited in range when Steller first described them. Steller said they were numerous and found in herds, but Stejneger estimated there were less than 1500 remaining and were in danger of extinction from overhunting by humans.^[4] They were wiped out quickly by the sailors, seal hunters, and fur traders that followed Bering's route past the islands to Alaska, who hunted them both for food and for their skins, which were used to make boats. They were also hunted for their valuable subcutaneous fat, which was not only used for food (usually as a butter substitute), but also for oil lamps because it did not give off any smoke or odor and could be kept for a long time in warm weather without spoiling. By 1768, less than 30 years after it had been discovered, Steller's Sea Cow was extinct. Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Year 1902 (MCMII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday [1] of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... For other uses, see Alaska (disambiguation). ... 1768 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ...

Fossils indicate that Steller's Sea Cow was formerly widespread along the North Pacific coast, reaching south to Japan and California. Given the rapidity with which its last population was eliminated, it is likely that the arrival of humans in the area was the cause of its extinction elsewhere as well. Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Largest metro area Greater Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ...

Possible sightings

There are still sporadic reports of sea cow-like animals from the Bering area and Greenland,^{[5] [unreliable source?]} so it has been suggested that small populations of the animal may have survived to the present day. This remains so far unproven.

In literature

Sea Cows appear in Rudyard Kipling's short story "The White Seal", where they show the title character a place of refuge from human hunters. Kipling probably knew (a) that the Sea Cow was considered extinct and that (b) nevertheless people sometimes claimed to have seen them. Thus, his suggestion is that they are around, but mostly hiding. This article is about the British author. ...

See also

• Extinction
• List of extinct animals
• List of extinct animals (U.S.)
• Sirenia
• Evolution of sirenians

For other uses, see Extinction (disambiguation). ... // Extinct Animals redirects here. ... An incomplete list of extinct animals of the United States. ... Families Dugongidae Trichechidae Hydrochichus (extinct) For information about the Gothic metal band, see Sirenia (band) The Sirenia are fully aquatic, herbivorous mammals that inhabit rivers, estuaries and coastal marine waters. ... Evolution of Sirenian Locomotion, based on Berta and Sumich, 1999. ...

Notes

References

• Anderson, P. 1995. Competition, predation, and the evolution and extinction of Steller's sea cow, Hydrodamalis gigas. Marine Mammal Science, 11: 391-394.
• World Conservation Monitoring Centre (1996). Hydrodamalis gigas. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is listed as extinct
• Shoshani, Jeheskel (November 16, 2005). in Wilson, D. E., and Reeder, D. M. (eds): Mammal Species of the World, 3rd edition, Johns Hopkins University Press, 92. ISBN 0-801-88221-4. 

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (also known as the IUCN Red List and Red Data List), created in 1963, is the worlds most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plant and animal species and can be found here. ... The World Conservation Union or International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) is an international organization dedicated to natural resource conservation. ...

External links

• Animal Diversity Web
• Steller's Sea Cow information from the AMIQ Institute
• Georg Steller's De bestiis marinis (1751)(in English)
• Hans Rothauscher's Die Stellersche Seekuh site (in German & English)
• Illustration of a sea cow skeleton and an extract from Steller's description