Are Manatees Pinnipeds?
Many people think that manatees are a type of pinniped. This sounds reasonable, since both are cute marine mammals shaped somewhat similarly. Kali'na watches on while her mom eats lettuce, from website Zooborns However, manatees are actually in a group of animals called "sirenians" which include the West Indian Manatee, African Manatee, Amazonian Manatee, and the Dugong. There are many differences between the sirenians and the pinnipeds. Relatives One of the biggest differences between sirenians and pinnipeds are their relatives, as found in the fossil record. Manatees are more closely related to elephants and hyraxes, and like those two animals are herbivores (they primarily eat plants). They are from the clade "Afrotheria" comprised of animals of an African origin. Pinnipeds, on the other hand, are their own clade and are closely related to Carnivores (primarily meat eaters), such as dogs and cats. From paper " Convergent Evolution