What happens to manatee molars?

They move forward and are replaced

Manatee Quiz: Slow Grazers, Warm Springs and Sea Cows

This manatee quiz drifts through warm coastal waters with the gentle sea cows. Play 10 interactive questions on the three manatee species, their relationship to dugongs and elephants, seagrass grazing, slow swimming, Florida's warm springs in winter, molars that march forward and are replaced, sailors mistaking them for mermaids and boat strikes.

Start Manatee Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Nickname
What are manatees nicknamed?
Species
How many manatee species are there?
Kin
Which land animal is a relative of manatees?
Cousin
Which sea mammal belongs to the same group?
Diet
What do manatees mainly eat?
Speed
How do manatees usually swim?
Winter
Where do Florida manatees go in cold weather?
Teeth
What happens to manatee molars?
Myth
What did old sailors sometimes mistake manatees for?
Threat
What is a major threat to Florida manatees?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: What are manatees nicknamed?
Answer: Sea cows
They graze like cattle.
Q2: How many manatee species are there?
Answer: Three
West Indian, West African and Amazonian.
Q3: Which land animal is a relative of manatees?
Answer: The elephant
Both have tough skin and nails.
Q4: Which sea mammal belongs to the same group?
Answer: The dugong
Together they are sirenians.
Q5: What do manatees mainly eat?
Answer: Seagrass and water plants
They graze for hours.
Q6: How do manatees usually swim?
Answer: Slowly
They can sprint briefly.
Q7: Where do Florida manatees go in cold weather?
Answer: Warm springs and outflows
Cold water can kill them.
Q8: What happens to manatee molars?
Answer: They move forward and are replaced
Sand wears them down.
Q9: What did old sailors sometimes mistake manatees for?
Answer: Mermaids
Columbus wrote about them.
Q10: What is a major threat to Florida manatees?
Answer: Boat strikes
Many carry propeller scars.

Gentle Grazers of Warm Water

Manatees, nicknamed sea cows, are large, gentle mammals that graze on seagrass and water plants for hours each day. There are three species: West Indian, West African and Amazonian. With dugongs they form the group called sirenians, and their closest land relatives are elephants.

Manatees swim slowly, though they can sprint briefly. Sand in their food wears their molars, which move forward and are replaced throughout life. In winter, Florida manatees gather at warm springs and power plant outflows, because cold water can kill them.

Old sailors sometimes mistook manatees for mermaids, and Columbus wrote that they were not as beautiful as described. Today boat strikes are a major threat, and many manatees carry propeller scars. Slow speed zones help protect them.

What This Quiz Teaches

Marine life fans will enjoy these questions.

What manatees are
Which species exist
What they eat
Where they go in winter
What threatens them

Did You Know?

Manatees surface to breathe every few minutes.
Calves nurse from teats behind the flippers.
Blue Spring hosts winter crowds.
Algae can grow on their backs.
They have few natural predators.