[man-uh-tee, man-uh-tee] 
| any of several plant-eating aquatic mammals of the genus Trichechus, of West Indian, Floridian, and Gulf Coast waters, having two flippers in front and a broad, spoon-shaped tail: all species are endangered. |
| man·a·tee (mān'ə-tē') n. Any of various herbivorous aquatic mammals of the genus Trichechus, having paddlelike front flippers and a horizontally flattened tail and found in warm coastal waters of Florida, northern South America, West Africa, and the Caribbean. [Spanish manatí, from Cariban manati·.] |
