# African manatee (*Trichechus senegalensis*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/african-manatee  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The African manatee (Trichechus senegalensis), also called the West African manatee, is a mammal in the order Sirenia and the family Trichechidae. It is a giant marine herbivore with an adult body mass of 454 kg, and our sources report adults up to 477 kg. The African manatee is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, an IUCN threatened category, and its lifespan is given as 22.65 years, with values up to 30 years.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 454 kg – 477 kg |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Lifespan | 22.7 years |
| Diet | Herbivore |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 30 years |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | Not recorded |
| Gestation | 388 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 1 |
| Age at maturity | 3 years |
| Active | Day and night (cathemeral) |
| Lifestyle | Marine |
| Conservation status | Vulnerable (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Mammalia
- order: Sirenia
- family: Trichechidae
- genus: Trichechus
- species: *Trichechus senegalensis* Link, 1795

Synonyms: *Trichecus senegalensis*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the African manatee?

The African manatee is a mammal in the order Sirenia and the family Trichechidae.

### How heavy is the African manatee?

An adult African manatee has a body mass of 454 kg, and our sources report adults up to 477 kg.

### What does the African manatee eat?

The African manatee is a herbivore.

### Is the African manatee endangered?

The African manatee is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, which is an IUCN threatened category.

### How long does the African manatee live?

The lifespan of the African manatee is given as 22.65 years, with values up to 30 years reported by our sources.

### How many young does the African manatee have?

The African manatee has 1 young per litter, after a gestation period of 388 days.

### Who named the African manatee?

The African manatee was named Trichechus senegalensis by Link, 1795.

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1), CC0 1.0, 1.0. Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: African manatee (Trichechus senegalensis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/african-manatee