Trichechus manatus Linnaeus, 1758 . Syst. Nat., 10th ed., 1:34.

TYPE LOCALITY: "Mari Americano"; restricted by Thomas (1911a) to "West Indies."

DISTRIBUTION: Caribbean coastal areas and river systems from Virginia, USA to Espirito Santo, Brazil, including Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, French Guiana, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Suriname, Venezuela, and the West Indies including the Bahamas, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, and formerly the Virgin Isis.

STATUS: CITES - Appendix I; U.S. ESA - Endangered; IUCN - Vulnerable.

SYNONYMS: amazonius, americanus, antillarum, atlanticus, clusii, guyannensis, koellikeri, latirostris, minor, oronocensis, trichechus.

COMMENTS: See Domning (1981); reviewed by Husar (1978c, Mammalian Species, 93).