Hydrodamalis

Hydrodamalis Temporal range: late Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Skeleton of Steller's sea cow (Hydrodamalis gigas) at the Finnish Museum of Natural History
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Sirenia
Family:	Dugongidae
Subfamily:	†Hydrodamalinae
Genus:	†Hydrodamalis Retzius, 1794
Type species
†Hydrodamalis stelleri Retzius, 1794
Species
† Zimmermann , 1780) † Hydrodamalis cuestae Domning , 1978 †? Hydrodamalis spissa Furusawa , 1988
Synonyms[1]
List †Dystomus von Waldheim, 1813 †Haligyna Billberg, 1827 †Manati Steller, 1774 †Nepus von Waldheim, 1814 †Rhytina Berthold, 1827 †Rhytine Burmeister, 1837 †Rytina Illiger, 1811 †Sirene Link, 1794 †Stellerus Desmarest, 1822

Hydrodamalis is a genus of extinct

Cuesta by Daryl Domning,^[5] and Takikawa by Hitoshi Furusawa.^[2] The Steller's sea cow was the only member of the genus to survive into modern times, and, although had formerly been abundant throughout the North Pacific, by the mid 1700s, its range had been limited to a single, isolated population surrounding the uninhabited Commander Islands. It was hunted for its meat, skin, and fat by fur traders, and was also hunted by aboriginals of the North Pacific coast, leading to its and the genus' extinction 27 years after discovery.^[6] The Cuesta sea cow along with the Takikawa sea cow were probably extinct at the end of the Pliocene due to the onset of the Ice Ages and the subsequent recession of seagrasses—their main food source.^[5]

Cladogram on the relations of the hydrodamalines based on a 2004 study by Hitoshi Furuwasha ^[7]

References