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. Manatees, like other aquatic mammals, do most of their feeding underwater and must be able to hold their breath long enough to feed efficiently. Aquatic mammals have a number of adaptations that allow them to stay under water longer than the average land-dwelling mammal. Both the lungs and diaphragm of a manatee extend the length of the body cavity and so are oriented in the same horizontal plane as the manatee in the water. This arrangement is important for buoyancy control. An unusual anatomical feature of sirenians is that each lung is in a separate cavity. Instead of one diaphragm like people, manatees have separate "hemi-diaphragms." Besides breathing, the lungs help the manatee with buoyancy control. Manatees replace a large percentage of air in their lungs with each breath and can therefore prolong intervals between breaths. In fact, studies have shown that manatees can renew about 90% of the air in their lungs in a single breath as compared to humans at rest who generally renew about 10%

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Thelma Ward

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12y ago

. Manatees, like other aquatic mammals, do most of their feeding underwater and must be able to hold their breath long enough to feed efficiently. Aquatic mammals have a number of adaptations that allow them to stay under water longer than the average land-dwelling mammal. Both the lungs and diaphragm of a manatee extend the length of the body cavity and so are oriented in the same horizontal plane as the manatee in the water. This arrangement is important for buoyancy control. An unusual anatomical feature of sirenians is that each lung is in a separate cavity. Instead of one diaphragm like people, manatees have separate "hemi-diaphragms." Besides breathing, the lungs help the manatee with buoyancy control. Manatees replace a large percentage of air in their lungs with each breath and can therefore prolong intervals between breaths. In fact, studies have shown that manatees can renew about 90% of the air in their lungs in a single breath as compared to humans at rest who generally renew about 10%

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10y ago

It's an acquired habit of the manatee and possibly large lungs relative to size. They still have to surface to breath every 7-10 minutes. Many humans can and do remain underwater for up to 5-6 minutes after long practice.

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Q: What special adaptations do manatees have that that allow them to stay under water longer than the average land-dwelling mammal?
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What special adaptations do manatees have that allow them to stay underwater longer than the average land-dwelling mammal?

Manatees are not land-dwelling, they are water-dwelling mammals therefore their lungs are bigger so they can stay underwater longer.


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Manatees have really dense bones which help them stay suspended below the water's surface. In addition, Manatees are able to remain underwater for long periods because, with just one breath, they can replenish 90% of the air in their lungs. Compare this to humans, who can replenish just 10% of the air in their lungs in one breath.


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Manatees have really dense bones which help them stay suspended below the water's surface. In addition, Manatees are able to remain underwater for long periods because, with just one breath, they can replenish 90% of the air in their lungs. Compare this to humans, who can replenish just 10% of the air in their lungs in one breath.


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