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Steller's sea cow

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Steller's sea cow (Hydrodamalis gigas) is species of sirenian first

discovered by Europeans in 1741 and now extinct. At the time of its Steller's sea cow
discovery, it was found only around the Commander Islands, in the Temporal range: Pleistocene1768 A.D.
Bering Sea between Alaska and Russia; its range was more extensive
during the Pleistocene epoch and it is possible that Steller's sea cows
and humans interacted before their discovery on the Commander
Islands. Steller's sea cow would reach weights of 810 metric tons (8.8
11.0 short tons) and lengths of up to 9 meters (30 ft). The sea cow was a
part of the order Sirenia, and member of the family Dugongidae, of
which its closest living relative, the 3-meter (9.8 ft) long dugong
Skeleton at the Finnish Museum of Natural
(Dugong dugon), is the sole surviving member.
History
Steller's sea cow had a thicker layer of blubber than other members of
Conservation status
the order, an adaptation to the cold waters of its environment. Its tail
was forked, like that of cetaceans. Lacking true teeth, it had an array of
white bristles on its upper lip and two keratinous plates within its
mouth for chewing. Steller's sea cow fed mainly on kelp, and
communicated with sighs and snorting sounds. Evidence suggests that Extinct (1768) (IUCN 3.1)[1]
the sea cow was a monogamous and social animal, living in small
family groups and raising its young, similar to extant sirenians. Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
The sea cow was named after Georg Wilhelm Steller, a naturalist who
discovered the species in 1741, on Vitus Bering's Great Northern Phylum: Chordata
Expedition when the crew became shipwrecked on Bering Island. Much Class: Mammalia
of what is known about the behavior of the sea cow comes from
Steller's observations on the island, documented in his posthumous Order: Sirenia
publication On the Beasts of the Sea. Within 27 years of discovery by
Family: Dugongidae
Europeans, the slow-moving and easily caught Steller's sea cow was
hunted into extinction for its meat, fat, and hide. Genus: Hydrodamalis
Species: H. gigas
Binomial name
Contents
Hydrodamalis gigas
1 Description Zimmermann, 1780
2 Ecology and behavior
3 Taxonomy
3.1 Phylogeny
3.2 Research history
3.3 Illustrations
4 Range
5 Interactions with humans
5.1 Extinction
5.1.1 Interactions with Europeans
5.1.2 Interactions with aboriginals
Map showing the position of the
5.2 Later reported sightings
5.3 Commercial value Commander Islands to the east of
5.4 Portrayals in media Kamchatka. The larger island to the west is
6 See also
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7 References Bering Island; the smaller island to the east

8 Further reading
is Copper Island.
9 External links
Synonyms[2][3][4][5]
List of synonyms
Description
Steller's sea cows grew to be 8 to 9 m (26 to 30 ft) long as adults, much
larger than extant sirenians.[6] As for weight, Georg Steller's writings
contain two contradictory estimates: 4 and 24.3 metric tons (4.4 and 26.8
short tons). The true value is estimated to fall between these figures, at
about 810 metric tons (8.811.0 short tons).[7] This size made the sea cow
one of the largest mammals of the Holocene epoch, aside from whales.[8]
The sea cow's large size was likely an adaptation to reduce its surface-area-
The skull of a Steller's sea cow, Natural
to-volume ratio and conserve heat.[9] Unlike other sirenians, Steller's sea
History Museum of London
cow was positively buoyant, meaning that it was unable to completely
submerge. It had a very thick outer skin (2.5 centimeters (1 in)) to prevent
injury from sharp rocks and ice, and possibly to prevent unsubmerged skin
from drying out. [6][10] The sea cow's blubber was 810 centimeters (34 in) thick, another adaptation to the frigid
climate of the Bering Sea where it lived.[11] Its skin was brownish-black, with white patches on some individuals.
It was smooth along its back and rough on its sides, with crater-like depressions most likely caused by parasites.
This rough texture led to the animal being nicknamed the "bark animal". Hair on its body was sparse, but the
insides of the sea cow's flippers were covered in bristles.[5] The forelimbs were roughly 67 centimeters (26 in)
long, and the tail fluke was forked.[5]

The sea cow's head was small and short in comparison to its huge body. The animal's upper lip was large and
broad, extending so far beyond the lower jaw that the mouth appeared to be located underneath the skull. Unlike
other sirenians, Steller's sea cow was toothless and instead had a dense array of interlacing white bristles on its
upper lip. The bristles were approximately 3.8 centimeters (1.5 in) in length and were used to tear seaweed stalks
and hold food.[5] The sea cow also had two keratinous plates located on its palate and mandible used for
chewing.[12] According to Steller, these plates (or "masticatory pads") were held together by interdental papillae, a
part of the gums, and had many small holes containing nerves and arteries.[5]

As with all sirenians, the sea cow's snout pointed downwards, which
allowed it to better grasp kelp. The sea cow's nostrils were roughly 5
centimeters (2 in) long and wide. In addition to those within its mouth, the
sea cow also had stiff, 1012.7 centimeters (3.95.0 in) long bristles
protruding from its muzzle.[9][5] Steller's sea cow had small eyes located
halfway between its nostrils and ears with black irises, livid eyeballs, and
canthi which were not externally visible. The animal had no eyelashes, but
like other diving creatures such as sea otters, Steller's sea cow had a
membrane which covered its eyes to prevent injury while feeding. The Model in the Natural History Museum
tongue was small and remained in the back of the mouth, unable to reach of London
the masticatory (chewing) pads.[9][5]

The sea cow's spine is believed to have had 7 neck, 17 thoracic, 3 lumbar, and 34 caudal (tail) vertebrae. Its ribs
were large, with 5 of 17 pairs making contact with the sternum; the sea cow had no clavicles.[5] As in all sirenians,
the scapula of Steller's sea cow was fan-shaped being larger on the posterior side and narrower towards the neck.
The anterior border of the scapula was nearly straight, whereas those of modern sirenians are curved. Like other
sirenians, the bones of Steller's sea cow were pachyosteosclerotic, meaning they were both bulky (pachyostotic)

and dense (osteosclerotic).[9][13] In all

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and dense (osteosclerotic).[9][13] In all collected skeletons of the sea cow, the manus is missing: since Dusisiren
the sister taxon of Hydrodamalishad reduced phalanges (finger bones), it is possible that Steller's sea cow did not
have a manus at all.[14]

The sea cow's heart was 16 kilograms (35 lb) in weight; its stomach measured 1.8 metres (6 ft) long and 1.5 metres
(5 ft) wide. The full length of its intestinal tract was about 151 metres (500 ft) long, equaling more than 20 times
the animal's length. The sea cow had no gallbladder, but did have a wide common bile duct. Its anus was 10
centimeters (0.33 ft) in width, with its feces resembling that of horses. In males, the penis was 81 centimeters
(2.7 ft) long.[5]

Ecology and behavior

Whether Steller's sea cow had any natural predators is unknown. It may
have been hunted by killer whales and sharks, though its buoyancy may
have made it difficult for killer whales to drown, and the rocky kelp forests
in which the sea cow lived may have deterred sharks. According to Steller,
the adults guarded the young from predators.[6]

Steller described an ectoparasite on the sea cows that was similar to the
whale louse (Cyamus ovalis), but the parasite remains unidentified due to
the host's extinction and loss of all original specimens collected by
Steller.[15] It was first formally described as Sirenocyamus rhytinae in 1846
by Johann Friedrich von Brandt. It was the only species of cyamid
amphipod to be reported inhabiting a sirenian.[16] Steller also identified an
endoparasite on the sea cows, which was likely an ascarid nematode.[12]
Illustrations of the dentition of Steller's
sea cow by Johann Christian Daniel von Like other sirenians, Steller's sea cow was an obligate herbivore and spent
Schreber most of the day feeding, only lifting its head every 4 to 5 minutes for
breathing.[5] Kelp was its main food source, making it an algivore. The sea
cow likely fed on several species of kelp, which have been identified as:
Agarum spp., Alaria praelonga, Halosaccion glandiforme, Laminaria saccharina, Nereocyctis luetkeana and
Thalassiophyllum clathrus. Steller's sea cow only fed directly on the soft parts of the kelp, which caused the
tougher stem and holdfast to wash up on the shore in heaps. The sea cow may have also fed on seagrass, but the
plant was not common enough to support a viable population and could not have been the sea cow's primary food
source. Further, the available seagrasses in the sea cow's range (Phyllospadix spp. and Zostera marina) may have
grown too deep underwater or been too tough for the animal to consume. Since the sea cow floated, it likely fed on
canopy kelp, as it is believed to have only had access to food no deeper than 1 meter (3.3 ft) below the tide. Kelp
releases a chemical deterrent to protect it from grazing, but canopy kelp releases a lower concentration of the
chemical, allowing the sea cow to graze safely.[12][6][17] Steller noted that the sea cow grew thin during the frigid
winters, indicating a period of fasting due to low kelp growth.[17] Fossils of Pleistocene Aleutian Island sea cow
populations were larger than those from the Commander Islands, indicating that the growth of Commander Island
sea cows may have been stunted due to a less favorable habitat and less food than the warmer Aleutian Islands.[9]

Steller described the sea cow as being highly social (gregarious). The sea cow lived in small family groups and
helped injured members, and was also apparently monogamous. Steller's sea cow may have exhibited parental care,
and the young were kept at the front of the herd for protection against predators. Steller reported that as a female
was being captured, a group of other sea cows attacked the hunting boat by ramming and rocking it, and after the
hunt, her mate followed the boat to shore, even after the captured animal had died. Mating season occurred in early
spring and gestation took a little over a year, with calves likely delivered in autumn, as Steller observed a greater
number of calves in autumn than at any other time of the year. Since female sea cows had only one set of
mammary glands, it is likely that they had one calf at a time.[5]
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The sea cow used its forelimbs for swimming, feeding, walking in shallow water, defending itself, and for holding
on to its partner during copulation.[5] According to Steller, the forelimbs were also used to anchor the sea cow
down to prevent it from being swept away by the strong nearshore waves.[6] While grazing, the sea cow progressed
slowly by moving its tail (fluke) from side to side; more rapid movement was achieved by strong vertical beating
of the tail. They often slept on their backs after feeding. According to Steller, the sea cow was nearly mute and
made only heavy breathing sounds, raspy snorting similar to a horse, and sighs.[5]

Taxonomy
Phylogeny

Steller's sea cow Relations within Sirenia

was a member of Sirenia
the genus Anomotherium langewieschei
Hydrodamalis, a
group of large
Miosiren kocki
sirenians, whose
sister taxon was
Dusisiren. Like Trichechus inunguis
those of Steller's
sea cow, the Trichechus manatus
ancestors of
Dusisiren lived
in tropical Trichechus senegalensis
mangroves
The closely related dugong
before adapting Eotheroides aegyptiacum
to the cold
climates of the
[20] Halitherium schinzii
North Pacific. Hydrodamalis and Dusisiren are
classified together in the subfamily
Hydrodamalinae,[21] which diverged from other Priscosiren atlantica
sirenians around 4 to 8 mya.[22] Steller's sea cow is a
member of the family Dugongidae, whose sole Dugong dugon
surviving member, and thus Steller's sea cow's closest
living relative, is the dugong (Dugong dugon).[23]
Metaxytherium krahuletzi
Steller's sea cow was a direct descendant of the
Cuesta sea cow (H. cuestae),[6] an extinct tropical sea Metaxytherium serresii
cow that lived off the coast of western North
America, particularly California. The Cuesta sea cow
Metaxytherium medium
is thought to have gone extinct due to the onset of the
Quaternary glaciation and the subsequent cooling of
the oceans. Many populations died out, but the Metaxytherium floridanum
lineage of Steller's sea cow was able to adapt to the
colder temperatures.[24] The Takikawa sea cow (H. Metaxytherium crataegense
spissa) of Japan is thought of by some researchers to
be a taxonomic synonym of the Cuesta sea cow, but
based on a comparison of endocasts, the Takikawa Metaxytherium arctodites
and Steller's sea cows are more derived than the
Cuesta sea cow. This has led some to believe that the Dusisiren jordani
Takikawa sea cow is its own species.[19]
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Takikawa sea cow is its own species.[19] The

evolution of the Hydrodamalis genus was Hydrodamalis cuestae
characterized by increased size and a loss of teeth and
phalanges as a response to the onset of the Quaternary Hydrodamalis gigas
glaciation.[24][5]
Based on a 2015 study by Mark Springer[18]
Research history
Relations within Hydrodamalinae
Steller's sea cow was discovered in the mid-18th century
(1741) by Georg Wilhelm Steller, and was named after him. Dusisiren reinharti
Steller researched the wildlife of Bering Island while he was
shipwrecked there for about a year;[25] the animals on the Dusisiren jordani
island included relict populations of sea cows, sea otters,
Steller sea lions, and northern fur seals.[26] Steller's account
was included in his posthumous publication De bestiis Dusisiren dewana
marinis, or The Beasts of the Sea, which was published in Sirenia
1751 by the Russian Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg. Dusisiren takasatensis
Zoologist Eberhard von Zimmermann formally described
Stellar's sea cow in 1780 as Manati gigas. Biologist Anders
Jahan Retzius in 1794 put the sea cow in the new genus Hydrodamalis cuestae
Hydrodamalis, with the specific name of stelleri, in honor of
Steller.[4] In 1811, naturalist Johann Karl Wilhelm Illiger Hydrodamalis spissa
reclassified Steller's sea cow into the genus Rytina, which
many writers at the time adopted. The name Hydrodamalis Hydrodamalis gigas
gigas, the correct combinatio nova if a separate genus is
recognised, was first used in 1895 by Theodore Sherman
Based on a 2004 study by Hitoshi Furusawa[19]
Palmer.[5]

For decades after its discovery, no skeletal remains of a Steller's sea cow
were discovered.[10] This may have been due to rising and falling sea levels
over the course of the Quaternary period, which could have left many sea
cow bones hidden.[9] The first bones of a Steller's sea cow were unearthed
in about 1840, over 70 years after it was presumed extinct. The first partial
sea cow skull was discovered in 1844 by Ilya Voznesensky while on the
Commander Islands, and the first skeleton was discovered in 1855 on
northern Bering Island. These specimens were sent to St. Petersburg in
Stejneger's 1925 reconstruction of
Steller measuring a sea cow in 1742
1857, and another nearly complete skeleton arrived in Moscow around
1860. Most of the skeletal remains were unearthed in the late 1800s:
between 1878 and 1883, 12 of the known 27 skeletons were discovered.
Adolf Erik Nordenskild, Benedykt Dybowski, and Leonhard Hess Stejneger each unearthed many bones from
different individuals during this period, from which composite skeletons were assembled. As of 2006, 27 nearly
complete skeletons and 62 complete skulls have been found.[10]

Illustrations

The Pallas Picture is the only known drawing of Steller's sea cow believed to be from an actual specimen. It was
published by Peter Simon Pallas in his 1840 work Icones ad Zoographia Rosso-Asiatica. Pallas did not specify a
source; Stejneger suggested it may have been one of the original illustrations produced by Friedrich Plenisner, a
member of Vitus Bering's crew as a painter and surveyor who drew a figure of a female sea cow on Steller's
request. Most of Plenisner's depictions were lost during transit from Siberia to St. Petersburg.[27][28]

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Another drawing of Steller's sea cow similar to the Pallas Picture appeared on a 1744 map drawn by Sven Waxell
and Sofron Chitrow. The picture may have also been based upon a specimen, and was published in 1893 by
Pekarski. The map depicted Vitus Bering's route during the Great Northern Expedition, and featured illustrations of
Steller's sea cow and Steller's sea lion in the upper-left corner. The drawing contains some inaccurate features such
as the inclusion of eyelids and fingers, leading to doubt that it was drawn from a specimen.[27][28]

Johann Friedrich von Brandt, director of the Russian Academy of Sciences, had the "Ideal Image" drawn in 1846
based upon the Pallas Picture, and then the "Ideal Picture" in 1868 based upon collected skeletons. Two other
possible drawings of Steller's sea cow were found in 1891 in Waxell's manuscript diary. There was a map depicting
a sea cow, as well as Steller's sea lion and a northern fur seal. The sea cow was depicted with large eyes, a large
head, claw-like hands, exaggerated folds on the body, and a tail fluke in perspective lying horizontally rather than
vertically. The drawing may have been a distorted depiction of a juvenile, as the figure bears a resemblance to a
manatee calf. Another similar image was found by Alexander von Middendorff in 1867 in the library of the
Russian Academy of Sciences, and is probably a copy of the Tsarskoye Selo Picture.[27][28]

Early depictions of Steller's sea cow[27][28]

The Pallas Picture: the only
surviving drawing of
Steller's sea cow by
Friedrich Plenisner, and
possibly the only one drawn
from a specimen (1840)
The Pekarski Picture: a map The Ideal Image by Johann
of the Commander Islands Friedrich von Brandt based
including illustrations of on the Pallas Picture (1846)
Steller's sea cow and
Steller's sea lion by a crew
member of Vitus Bering's
Great Northern Expedition
(1893)

The Ideal Picture by Johann

Friedrich von Brandt based
on the Pallas Picture and
skeletons (1868)

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The Tsarskoye Selo Picture: The second Tsarskoye Selo

a map of the Commander Picture by Sven Waxell
Islands, including (1891)
illustrations of Steller's sea
cow, Steller's sea lion, and
the northern fur seal, by
Sven Waxell (1891); the tail
is lying flat on the ground in
perspective

Range
The range of Steller's sea cow at the time of its discovery was
apparently restricted to the shallow seas around the Commander
Islands, which include Bering and Copper Islands.[30][10][5] The
Commander Islands remained uninhabited until 1825 when the
Russian-American Company relocated Aleuts from Attu Island
and Atka Island there.[31] The first fossils discovered outside the
Commander Islands were found in interglacial Pleistocene
deposits in Amchitka,[9] and further fossils dating to the late
Pleistocene were found in Monterey Bay, California, and
Honshu, Japan. This suggests that the sea cow had a far more
extensive range in prehistoric times. It cannot be excluded that
[Full screen] these fossils belong to other Hydrodamalis species.[10][32][33] The
Locations of confirmed sightings and subfossil remains of remains of three individuals were found preserved in the South
Steller's sea cow[29][30] Bight Formation of Amchitka; as late Pleistocene interglacial
deposits are rare in the Aleutians, the discovery suggests that sea
cows were abundant in that era. According to Steller, the sea cow
often resided in the shallow, sandy shorelines and in the mouths of freshwater rivers.[9]

Bone fragments and accounts by native Aleut people suggest that sea cows also historically inhabited the Near
Islands,[34] potentially with viable populations that were in contact with humans in the western Aleutian Islands
prior to Steller's discovery in 1741. A sea cow rib discovered in 1998 on Kiska Island was dated to around 1,000
years old, and is now in the possession of the Burke Museum in Seattle. The dating may be skewed due to the
marine reservoir effect which causes radiocarbon-dated marine specimens to appear several hundred years older
than they are. Marine reservoir effect is caused by the large reserves of C14 in the ocean, and it is more likely that
the animal died between 1710 and 1785.[29]

A 2004 study reported that sea cow bones discovered on Adak Island were around 1,700 years old, and sea cow
bones discovered on Buldir Island were found to be around 1,600 years old.[35] It is possible the bones were from
cetaceans and were misclassified.[29] Rib bones of a Steller's sea cow have also been found on St. Lawrence Island,
and the specimen is thought to have lived between 800 and 920 CE.[30]

Interactions with humans

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Extinction

Interactions with Europeans

Steller's sea cow was quickly wiped out by fur traders, seal hunters, and
others who followed Vitus Bering's route past the sea cow's habitat and to
Alaska.[36] It was also hunted to collect its valuable subcutaneous fat. By
1768, 27 years after it had been discovered by Europeans, Steller's sea cow
was extinct.[1][32][37] In 1887 Stejneger estimated that there had been fewer
than 1,500 individuals remaining at the time of Steller's discovery, and thus
there was already an immediate danger of the sea cow's extinction.[1] 1966 Soviet postage stamp depicting
Bering's second voyage and the
The first attempt to hunt Steller's sea cow by Steller and the other crew discovery of the Commander Islands
members was unsuccessful due to the animal's strength and its thick hide.
The attempted method was to impale the sea cow and haul it to shore using
a large hook and heavy cable, but the crew could not pierce the skin. The second attempt did not occur until a
month later, when a harpooner speared the animal, and men on shore hauled it in while others repeatedly stabbed it
with bayonets. The sea cow was dragged into shallow waters, and the crew waited until the tide receded and the
animal was beached to butcher it.[26] After this, they hunted Steller's sea cows with relative ease, the challenge
being in hauling the animal back to shore. This success in hunting sea cows inspired maritime fur traders to detour
to the Commander Islands and restock their food supplies during North Pacific expeditions.[9]

Interactions with aboriginals

The presence of Steller's sea cows in the Aleutian Islands may have caused
the Aleut people to migrate westward to hunt them. This possibly led to the
sea cow's extinction in that area, assuming the animals survived in that
region into the Holocene epoch, but there is no archaeological evidence.[9]

It has also been argued that the decline of Steller's sea cow may have been
an indirect effect of the harvesting of sea otters by the aboriginal peoples.
With the otter population reduced, the number of sea urchins would have
increased, in turn reducing availability of kelp, as kelp is also the main
food source for sea urchins.[17] Therefore, aboriginal hunting of otters may
have contributed to the sea cow's disappearance from continental
shorelines.[32] In historic times, though, aboriginal hunting had depleted
sea otter populations only in localized areas,[32] and as the sea cow would Sea otters are keystone species and keep
have been easy prey for aboriginal hunters, accessible populations may sea urchin populations in check. Its
have been exterminated with or without simultaneous otter hunting. In any depopulation in the Aleutian Islands
event, the range of the sea cow was limited to coastal areas off uninhabited may have led to the decline of kelp and
islands by the time Bering arrived, and the animal was already subsequently of sea cows.[17]
endangered.[38][8]

One factor potentially leading to extinction of Steller's sea cow, specifically off the coast of St. Lawrence Island,
was the Siberian Yupik people who have inhabited St. Lawrence island for 2,000 years. They may have hunted the
sea cows into extinction, as the natives have a dietary culture heavily dependent upon marine mammals. The onset
of the Medieval Warm Period which reduced the availability of kelp may have also been the cause for their
extirpation in that area.[30]

Later reported sightings

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A number of sea cow sightings have been reported after the official 1768 date of extinction. According to Lucien
Turner, an American ethnologist and naturalist, the natives of Attu Island reported that the sea cows survived into
the 1800s, and were sometimes hunted.[29] A sighting report was made by a passenger on the Kruzenshtern's world
voyage between 1803 and 1806, near the Nordenskild Archipelago.[39]

In 1963 the official journal of the USSR's Academy of Sciences published an article announcing a possible
sighting. The previous year the whaling ship Buran had reported a group of large marine mammals grazing on
seaweed in shallow water off Kamchatka,[40] in the Gulf of Anadyr. The crew reported seeing six of these animals
ranging from 6 to 8 meters (20 to 26 ft), with trunks and split lips. There have also been alleged sightings by local
fishermen in the northern Kuril Islands, and around the Kamchatka and Chukchi peninsulas.[41][42] These sightings
may have been mistaken identifications of extant arctic marine mammals such as the narwhal (Monodon
monoceros) and the northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris).[39]

Commercial value

Steller's sea cow was described as being "tasty" by Steller; the meat was said to have a taste similar to corned beef,
though it was tougher, redder, and needed to be cooked for longer. Due to the sea cow's size, the meat was
plentiful, and it lasted a long time, perhaps due the high amount of salt in the animal's diet. This delayed spoiling to
some extent, with the salt effectively curing it. The sea cow's fat could be used for cooking and as an odorless lamp
oil. The thick, sweet milk of female sea cows could be drunk or made into butter,[5] and the thick, leathery hide
could be used to make clothing such as shoes and belts and large skin boats sometimes called baidarkas or
umiaks.[12]

Towards the end of the 19th century, bones and fossils from Steller's sea cow specimens were valuable and could
be sold to museums for high prices, and most Steller's sea cow bones were collected during this time; collection
declined after 1900.[10] Steller's sea cow bones are still sold commercially, and the highly dense cortical bones of
Steller's sea cows are well-suited material for decorative items such as knife handles and other carvings.[10]
Because the sea cow is extinct, native artisan products made in Alaska from this "mermaid ivory" are legal to sell
in the United States and do not fall under the jurisdiction of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) or the
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which restrict the
trade of marine mammal products. Although the distribution is legal, the sale of unfossilized bones is generally
prohibited and trade in products made of the bones is regulated because some of the material is unlikely to be
authentic and probably comes from other arctic cetaceans.[10][43]

Portrayals in media

In the story The White Seal from The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling,
which takes place in the Bering Sea, "Kotick" the rare white seal consults
Sea Cow during his journey to find a new home.[44][45]

Tales of a Sea Cow is a 2012 film by Icelandic-French artist Etienne de

France "documenting" a fictional 2006 re-discovery of a population of
Steller's sea cows off the coast of Greenland.[46] The film has been
exhibited in art museums and universities in Europe.[47][48]
Kotick the white seal talking to sea
Steller's sea cows appear in two books of poetry: Nach der Natur (1995) by
cows in Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle
Winfried Georg Sebald, and Species Evanescens (2009) by Russian poet
Book (1895)
Andrei Bronnikov. Bronnikov's book depicts the events of the Great
Northern Expedition through the eyes of Steller;[49] Sebald's book looks at
the conflict between man and nature, including the extinction of Steller's
sea cow.[50]
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See also
Holocene extinction
List of extinct animals of North America
List of Asian animals extinct in the Holocene
List of recently extinct mammals
Evolution of sirenians
Cuesta sea cow
Takikawa sea cow

References
1. Domning, D. (2016). "Hydrodamalis gigas" (http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/10303/0). IUCN Red List of
Threatened Species. IUCN. 2016: e.T10303A43792683. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-
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6. Marsh, Helene; O'Shea, Thomas J.; Reynolds III, John E. (2011). "Steller's sea cow: discovery, biology and
exploitation of a relict giant sirenian". Ecology and Conservation of the Sirenia: Dugongs and Manatees (htt
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10. Mattioli, Stefano; Domning, Daryl P. (2006). "An Annotated List of Extant Skeletal Material of Steller's Sea
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damalis_gigas_Sirenia_Dugongidae_from_the_Commander_Islands). Aquatic Mammals. 32 (3): 273288.
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11. Berta, Annalisa (2012). Return to the Sea: The Life and Evolutionary Times of Marine Mammals (https://boo
ks.google.com/books?id=c1YyWgK613oC&pg=PA131). Berkeley, California: University of California
Press. p. 131. ISBN 978-0-520-27057-2. OCLC 757476446 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/757476446).
"Steller described the sea cow's blubber, 810 centimeters (3.13.9 in) thick, as..."
12. Anderson, P. K.; Domning, D. P. (2008). Perrin, William F.; Wursig, Bernd; Thewissen, J. G. M., eds.
Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals (https://books.google.com/books?id=2rkHQpToi9sC&pg=PA1105) (2nd
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(https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/262718627).
13. Berta, A.; Sumich, J. L.; Kovacs, K. M. (2015). "Sirenians". Marine Mammals: Evolutionary Biology (http
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Press. p. 105. ISBN 978-0-12-397002-2. OCLC 953575838 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/953575838).
"The skeleton of sirenians displays both pachyostosis and osteosclerosis..."
14. Takahashi, S.; Domning, D. P.; Saito, T. (1986). "Dusisiren dewana, n. sp. (Mammalia: Sirenia), a new
ancestor of Steller's sea cow from the upper Miocene of Yamagata Prefecture, northeastern Japan" (https://w
ww.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/prpsj1951/1986/141/1986_141_296/_pdf) (PDF). Transactions and Proceedings of
the Paleontological Society of Japan, New Series (141): 296321. "...the phalanges were even more reduced,
and possibly even completely lost, in Steller's sea cow."
15. Loker, Eric; Hofkin, Bruce (2015). Parasitology: A Conceptual Approach (https://books.google.com/books?i
d=fHqfBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA293). New York, New York: Taylor and Francis Group. p. 293. ISBN 978-0-
8153-4473-5. OCLC 929783662 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/929783662).
16. Carlton, J. T.; Geller, J. B.; Reaka-Kudla, M. L.; Norse, E. A. (1999). "Historical Extinctions in the Sea" (htt
ps://www.uv.mx/personal/tcarmona/files/2010/08/Carlton-et-al-1999.pdf) (PDF). Annual Review of Ecology,
Evolution, and Systematics. 30: 523. JSTOR 221694 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/221694).
doi:10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.30.1.515 (https://doi.org/10.1146%2Fannurev.ecolsys.30.1.515).
"Syrenocyamus rhytinae was recorded from the Steller's Sea Cow...cyamid amphipods are known only from
whales and dolphins, and have never (since Steller) been recorded in sirenians."
17. Estes, James A.; Burdin, Alexander; Doak, Daniel F. (2016). "Sea otters, kelp forests, and the extinction of
Steller's sea cow" (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4743786). Proceedings of the National
Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 113 (4): 880885. Bibcode:2016PNAS..113..880E (htt
p://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016PNAS..113..880E). PMC 4743786 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl
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18. Springer, M.; Signore, A. V.; Paijmans, J. L. A.; Vlez-Juarbe, J.; Domning, D. P.; Bauer, C. E.; He, K.;
Crerar, L.; Campos, P. F.; Murphy, W. J.; Meredith, R. W.; Gatesy, J.; Willerslev, E.; MacPhee, R. D.;
Hofreiter, M.; Campbell, K. L. (2015). "Interordinal gene capture, the phylogenetic position of Stellers sea
cow based on molecular and morphological data, and the macroevolutionary history of Sirenia". Molecular
Phylogenetics and Evolution. 91 (10): 178193. PMID 26050523 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26
050523). doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2015.05.022 (https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.ympev.2015.05.022).
19. Furusawa, Hitoshi (2004). "A phylogeny of the North Pacific Sirenia (Dugongidae: Hydrodamalinae) based
on a comparative study of endocranial casts" (http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.2517/prpsj.8.91).
Paleontological Research. 8 (2): 9198. doi:10.2517/prpsj.8.91 (https://doi.org/10.2517%2Fprpsj.8.91).
20. Domning, D. P. (1978). Sirenian evolution in the North Pacific Ocean. 118. Berkeley, California: University
of California Publications in Geological Sciences. pp. 1176. ISBN 978-0-520-09581-6. OCLC 895212825
(https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/895212825).
21. Hydrodamalinae (http://fossilworks.org/cgi-bin/bridge.pl?a=taxonInfo&taxon_no=53133) at fossilworks.org
(retrieved 12 March 2017)
22. Rainey, W. E.; Lowenstein, J. M.; Sarich, V. M.; Magor, D. M. (1984). "Sirenian molecular systematics--
including the extinct Steller's sea cow (Hydrodamalis gigas)". Naturwissenschaften. 71 (11): 586588.
PMID 6521758 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/6521758). doi:10.1007/BF01189187 (https://doi.org/
10.1007%2FBF01189187).
23. Marsh, Helene. "Chapter 57: Dugongidae". Fauna of Australia (https://web.archive.org/web/2013051122175
6/http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/abrs/publications/fauna-of-australia/pubs/volume1b/57-ind.pd
f) (PDF). 1B. Canberra, Australia: CSIRO. ISBN 978-0-644-06056-1. OCLC 27492815 (https://www.worldc
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24. Domning, Daryl P. (1978). "An Ecological Model for Late Tertiary Sirenian Evolution in the North Pacific
Ocean". Systematic Zoology. 25 (4): 352362. JSTOR 2412510 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/2412510).
25. Steller, G. W. (1988). Frost, O. W., ed. Journal of a Voyage with Bering, 17411742. Translated by Engel,
M. A.; Frost, O. W. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-2181-3.
OCLC 877954975 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/877954975).
26. Frost, Orcutt William (2003). "Shipwreck and Survival". Bering: The Russian Discovery of America (https://
books.google.com/books?id=Eak1Ek9tg_8C&pg=PA262). New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press.
pp. 262264. ISBN 978-0-300-10059-4. OCLC 851981991 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/851981991).
27. Stejneger, L. H. (1936). Georg Wilhelm Steller, the Pioneer of Alaskan Natural History. Cambridge,
Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. pp. 1623. ISBN 978-0-576-29124-8. OCLC 836920902 (https://
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28. Buechner, E. (1891). "Nordischen Seekuh" (https://books.google.com/books?id=C2UhAQAAMAAJ&pg=R
A6-PA0). Memoirs of the Imperial Academy of St. Petersburg Science (in German). 38 (7): 124.
29. Domning, Daryl P.; Thomason, James; Corbett, Debra G. (2007). "Steller's sea cow in the Aleutian Islands"
(https://www.researchgate.net/publication/227985287_Steller's_sea_cow_in_the_Aleutian_Islands). Marine
Mammal Science. 23 (4): 976983. doi:10.1111/j.1748-7692.2007.00153.x (https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fj.174
8-7692.2007.00153.x).
30. Crerar, Lorelei D.; Crerar, Andrew P.; Domning, Daryl P.; Parsons, E. C. M. (2014). "Rewriting the history
of an extinctionwas a population of Steller's sea cows (Hydrodamalis gigas) at St Lawrence Island also
driven to extinction?" (http://rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/roybiolett/10/11/20140878.full.pdf)
(PDF). Biology Letters. 10 (11): 20140878. PMC 4261872 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC
4261872) . PMID 25428930 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25428930).
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31. Derbeneva, Olga A.; Sukernik, Rem I.; Volodko, Natalia V.; Hosseini, Seyed H.; Lott, Marie T.; Wallace,
Douglas C. (2002). "Analysis of Mitochondrial DNA Diversity in the Aleuts of the Commander Islands and
Its Implications for the Genetic History of Beringia" (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC37917
4). American Journal of Human Genetics. 71 (2): 415421. PMC 379174 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pm
c/articles/PMC379174) . PMID 12082644 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12082644).
doi:10.1086/341720 (https://doi.org/10.1086%2F341720). "In 18251826, the Russian-American company
transferred Aleut families from Attu Island, the westernmost of the Aleutian chain, as well as from
Atka/Andreyanov Islands, to the Commanders"
32. Anderson, Paul K. (July 1995). "Competition, Predation, and the Evolution and Extinction of Steller's Sea
Cow, Hydrodamalis gigas". Marine Mammal Science. Society for Marine Mammalogy. 11 (3): 391394.
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ks?id=wIHvCAAAQBAJ&pg=PA57). Fairbanks, Alaska: University of Alaska Press. pp. 5758. ISBN 978-
1-60223-047-7. OCLC 488523994 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/488523994).
34. Corbett, D. G.; Causey, D.; Clemente, M.; Koch, P. L.; Doroff, A.; Lefavre, C.; West, D. (2008). "Aleut
Hunters, Sea Otters, and Sea Cows". Human Impacts on Ancient Marine Ecosystems. University of
California Press. pp. 4376. ISBN 978-0-520-93429-0. JSTOR 10.1525/j.ctt1pphh3 (https://www.jstor.org/st
able/10.1525/j.ctt1pphh3). OCLC 929645577 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/929645577).
35. Savinetsky, A. B.; Kiseleva, N. K.; Khassanov, B. F. (2004). "Dynamics of sea mammaland bird populations
of the Bering Sea region over the last several millennia". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology,
Palaeoecology. 209 (14): 335352. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2004.02.009 (https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.palaeo.
2004.02.009).
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UC&pg=PA55). Seattle, Washington: University of Washington Press. pp. 55,144. ISBN 978-0-295-98249-
6. OCLC 49225731 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/49225731). "Each year, one or more vessels left Okhosk
or Petropavlosk on Kamchatka for hunting trips to the [Aleutian] islands. Typically, the ships would sail to
the Commander Islands, where they would spend some time slaughtering and preserving the mat of Steller's
rhytina (a sea cow)..."
37. Jones, Ryan T. (September 2011). "A 'Havock Made among Them': Animals, Empire, and Extinction in the
Russian North Pacific, 17411810". Environmental History. 16 (4): 585609. JSTOR 23049853 (https://ww
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Further reading
Steller, Georg W. (2011) [1751]. "The Manatee". In Miller, Walter. De Bestiis Marinis (http://digitalcommon
s.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1019&context=libraryscience). Lincoln, Nebraska: University of
Nebraska. pp. 1343. ISBN 978-1-295-08525-5. OCLC 867637409 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/8676374
09).
Steller, G. W. (1925). "Appendix A: Topographical and Physical Description of Bering Island which Lies in
the Eastern Sea off the Coast of Kamchatka". In Golder, F. A. Steller's Journal of the Sea Voyage from
Kamchatka to America and Return on the Second Expedition, 17411742 (http://www.americanjourneys.org/
pdf/AJ-099.pdf) (PDF). Bering's Voyages: An Account of the Efforts of the Russians to Determine the
Relation of Asia and America. II. Translated by Stejneger, Leonhard. New York, New York: American
Geographical Society. p. 207.

External links
Animal Diversity Web (http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Hydrodamalis_gig
as.html)
Steller's sea cow information from the AMIQ Institute (http://www.amiq.org/galleries/seacow/seacow.html)
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9/2/2017 Steller's sea cow - Wikipedia

Summary of the research history done on Steller's sea cow (http://www.hans-rothauscher.de/steller/seacow.ht

m)

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