''Miosiren'' is an extinct genus of
manatee
Manatees (, family (biology), family Trichechidae, genus ''Trichechus'') are large, fully aquatic, mostly herbivory, herbivorous marine mammals sometimes known as sea cows. There are three accepted living species of Trichechidae, representing t ...
from the Early Miocene of southeastern England (
Suffolk
Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...
) and
Antwerp
Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...
,
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
.
Two species are recognized, ''M. canhami'' and ''M. kocki''.
Phylogeny
A 2014 cladistic analysis of extinct sirenians recovered ''Miosiren'' as a close relative of ''
Anomotherium'' in a separate subfamily within Trichechidae, Miosireninae.
[M. Voss. 2014. On the invalidity of Halitherium schinzii Kaup, 1838 (Mammalia, Sirenia), with comments on systematic consequences. Zoosystematics and Evolution 90(1):87-93]
See also
*
Evolution of sirenians
Sirenia is the order (biology), order of Eutheria, placental mammals which comprises modern "sea cows" (manatees and the Dugong) and their extinct relatives. They are the only extant herbivorous marine mammals and the only group of herbivorous ...
References
Trichechidae
Neogene mammals of Europe
Miocene sirenians
Fossil taxa described in 1889
Prehistoric placental genera
{{Paleo-sirenian-stub