Armored catfish are driving manatees out of their warm-water refuges, putting their health at risk. Here’s why it’s happening ...

can take on a human shape and marry mortal men. Mermaids are closely linked to sirens, another folkloric figure, part-woman, part-bird, who live on islands and sing seductive songs to lure sailors to ...

Gentle and playful marine mammals, Florida manatees have come to represent the amazing biodiversity of Florida. With their large size, slow-moving nature, and fondness of seagrass, it's easy to see ...

Gentle and playful marine mammals, Florida manatees have come to represent the amazing biodiversity of Florida. With their large size, slow-moving nature, and fondness of seagrass, it's easy to see ...

Sailors in the Middle Ages often thought manatees were mermaids. This is because of the manatees’ humanlike upper bodies and fishlike tails. This inspired Danish author Hans Christian Andersen ...

Although manatees have the nickname “seacow”, their closest relatives are elephants and hyraxes. Manatees were once thought to be mermaids by early sailors, including Christopher Columbus, who ...

In a journal entry dated 1493, Christopher Columbus wrote that he espied three “mermaids” beside his ship during his voyage to the Caribbean ... But it’s likely that Columbus’s accounts were inspired ...