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Meaning of sirenian in English:

sirenian

Pronunciation /sʌɪˈriːnɪən/

noun

Zoology

  • A large aquatic plant-eating mammal of the order Sirenia, such as a manatee or dugong.

    ‘The remaining sirenians, are seriously threatened by hunting, habitat degradation, and in the case of manatees, collisions with boats in the shallow coastal areas they prefer.’
    • ‘Modern sirenians are large, docile, aquatic herbivores.’
    • ‘To understand isotopic variation in Florida sirenians, we selected four teeth for serial sampling.’
    • ‘All living sirenians are found in warm tropical and subtropical waters.’

adjective

Zoology

  • Relating to or denoting sirenians.

    ‘This may have supported a strong, fleshy lip with which Thalassocnus grazed seagrass or kelp, much like manatees and their sirenian relatives.’
    • ‘The hyrax - elephant - sirenian core is well-accepted on morphological grounds.’
    • ‘Corystosiren is a late-surviving dugong at a time when sirenian fossils are exceedingly rare in Florida.’