Editing Manatee (section)

=== Evolution ===
Fossil remains of manatee ancestors - also known as [[sirenia]]ns - date back to the [[Eocene|Early Eocene]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Ecology and Conservation of the Sirenia : Dugongs and Manatees.|last=Marsh, Helene.|date=2011|publisher=Cambridge University Press|others=O'Shea, Thomas J., Reynolds III, John E.|isbn=978-1-139-15887-9|location=Cambridge|oclc=782876868}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=de Souza|first1=Érica Martinha Silva|last2=Freitas|first2=Lucas|last3=da Silva Ramos|first3=Elisa Karen|last4=Selleghin-Veiga|first4=Giovanna|last5=Rachid-Ribeiro|first5=Michelle Carneiro|last6=Silva|first6=Felipe André|last7=Marmontel|first7=Miriam|last8=dos Santos|first8=Fabrício Rodrigues|last9=Laudisoit|first9=Anne|last10=Verheyen|first10=Erik|last11=Domning|first11=Daryl P.|date=2021-02-11|title=The evolutionary history of manatees told by their mitogenomes|journal=Scientific Reports|language=en|volume=11|issue=1|pages=3564|doi=10.1038/s41598-021-82390-2|pmid=33574363|issn=2045-2322|pmc=7878490|bibcode=2021NatSR..11.3564D}}</ref> It is thought that they reached the isolated area of the South American continent and became known as [[Trichechidae]]. In the [[Late Miocene]], [[Trichechidae|trichechids]] were likely restricted in South American coastal rivers and they fed on many freshwater plants. [[Dugong]]s inhabited the West Atlantic and Caribbean waters and fed on [[seagrass meadow]]s instead. As the sea grasses began to grow, manatees adapted to the changing environment by growing supernumerary molars. Sea levels lowered and increased erosion and silt runoff was caused by [[glaciation]]. This increased the tooth wear of the bottom-feeding manatees.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Evolution of Manatees: A Speculative History|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1304394|journal=Journal of Paleontology|jstor = 1304394|last1 = Domning|first1 = Daryl P.|year = 1982|volume = 56|issue = 3|pages = 599–619}}</ref>