It is said that Columbus had heard some mysterious and beautiful legends about mermaids before witnessing manatees. At that time, he was immersed in his fascination and keen interest in the mermaid and named it after his beloved mistress "Anna" hopefully. Until the sailors caught a manatee on a voyage and told Columbus that it was the mermaid he had always wanted to see, Columbus couldn't believe that the beautiful and sacred "Anna" in his heart would be such an ugly face, not as cute as a sow. So Columbus decided to make her "beautiful" Anna his disappointing dinner. That night, he ate this "Anna" and felt that the meat color and taste were similar to veal. In addition, they eat grass, and their internal structure is nothing like fish, so it is speculated that they are not fish, but real calves. Since then, manatees have been called away. Of course, the ironic name "Anna" was quietly covered up like a dirty dress.
But why do humans think manatees are mermaids? The most convincing thing is that manatees have two breasts, which are as big as a man's fist, and they are both located under the fins of the chest, which is similar to the position of human breasts. This big root is the biggest basis for naming it mermaid. Some people even say that it feeds on its flippers, and its upper body is exposed to the water, which looks like a human figure. Actually, it's not. When feeding, manatees float horizontally on the water, slightly sideways and never stand upright on the water. Why do people call manatees "mermaids"? So far, there is no scientific basis to prove this.
Although the legend is only a legend, it does not represent any scientific basis and has no practical significance, but the mermaid does exist subjectively. Manatees are called mermaids, but they can't represent mermaids. The image of mermaid has been loved and praised by people for thousands of years. I'm afraid her beauty is three points worse than Venus and Mona Lisa. Mermaid, she has become a concept, a totem recognized by the world, and a beautiful spiritual gift given to us by nature, and we should return this gift to nature in our own way. Although she has never entered anyone's sight, she will remain in our memory forever. Because of this, she can give the world enough imagination to shape her and beautify her. So this charm of mermaid is sacred, perfect and eternal.
Prototype:
The real mermaid may be seen more in various movies and TV shows. Usually, what we call a mermaid is actually a manatee.
Such as sea owners, seals and so on. But only one of them is a "mermaid" recognized by scientists-dugong.
dugong
Dugong, commonly known as mermaid, is a precious animal in the world, and people seldom see it.
Alias mermaid
The scientific name is dugong.
English name dugong
The family dugongidae.
Distributed in Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan and the southern coast of Taiwan Province Province.
National first-class protected animals
Dugong's body is spindle-shaped, about 3 meters long and weighs 300-500 kilograms. There are sparse short fine body hairs all over the body. There is no obvious neck, the head is small, the upper lip is horseshoe-shaped, the snout has bristles, and the front end of the head is juxtaposed with two approximately circular breathing holes; There is no external auricle, and the ear hole is located behind the eye. There is no dorsal fin, and the flippers are oval. The caudal fin is wide, the left and right sides are flat and symmetrical, and the rear edge is forked and engraved. There are a pair of breasts under the flippers. The back is mainly dark gray, and the abdomen is slightly shallow.
Dugong is a marine herbivore. Its distribution is closely related to water temperature, ocean currents and algae as the main food. Most of them haunt seaweed about 20 meters away from the coast, sometimes they enter the estuary with the tide, and then return to the sea with the ebb tide after foraging, and rarely swim out to sea. Living in a family group with 2-3 heads, living at the bottom of the algae area with good concealment conditions, and regularly emerging to breathe. Often regarded as a "mermaid", it surfaced and left many beautiful legends for people.
Dugong is a marine animal evolved from terrestrial herbivores. It has been severely hunted and killed, and the resources have been destroyed. It is urgent to strengthen protection.
In fact, mermaids are not beautiful. It is a marine animal called Dugong, which lives in the coastal areas of Guangdong, Guangxi, Taiwan Province and other provinces. This name is literally translated from Malay, and some people call it "Nanhai Niu". In addition to my country, other countries around the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean also have their life footprints.
Dugong is not only ugly, but also ugly. It is shaped like a huge rotating pestle, more than 3 meters long and weighs more than 400 kilograms. Its big head and small tail are like a crescent moon. The ugliest thing is that its eyes are as clear as a mouse, its nostrils are on its head, its ears have no ears, and its two fangs are exposed from its thick lips. It looks very ugly. The skin is gray and there are scattered thorns on it. It is really not beautiful, but it is said to be a mermaid, because its living habits are similar to those of human beings, that is, the magical dugong grew up by sucking its mother's milk; Dugong's figure is a bit like a woman's, and its forelimbs are deformed? d？ D there are a pair of plump breasts next to the pectoral fin, which are very similar to humans. So when it rises occasionally, revealing the upper body and appearing on the sea, it really looks like a woman.
Dugong is not picky in life. Most of them feed on succulent aquatic plants, such as seaweed and aquatic plants, as well as rushes and grasses containing fibers. However, almost all aquatic plants are edible. It eats a lot, eating more than 45 kilograms of aquatic plants every day, so it spends a large part of its time eating. Dugong looks for seaweed in a way similar to that of a cow. When it chews, its head keeps swinging, which is why it is called "sea breeze". It moves slowly, although it lives in the sea all the year round, but its underwater kung fu is very general, and its swimming speed is only about 2 nautical miles per hour. Even if driven by the enemy, its escape speed does not exceed 5 nautical miles. It is precisely because it can eat but is unwilling to move, so fattening it often becomes the goal of profit-seekers. Dugong is gray and fat, oil can be used as medicine, meat is delicious, and skin can be tanned. Because of this, they are repeatedly killed by human beings. If they are not strictly protected, they will be in born to die. Therefore, dugong has been listed as a national first-class protected animal.
Professor White of Florida State University is a veritable "mermaid doctor". He worked tirelessly with mermaids all day, carefully studied their habits and lives, and obtained a lot of valuable first-hand information about mermaids. In the past five years alone, Dr. White has saved 450 injured mermaids.
The scientific name of mermaid is dugong. When a mermaid feeds, she hugs her child with thick hands, and her head and chest are exposed to the water, just like a person swimming in the water, so she has the reputation of "mermaid". In fact, mermaids are very kind to people. Although they are big, they are very kind and get along well with all living things, including humans. Mermaids mainly live in tropical and subtropical waters, and in North America, they mainly live on the coast of Florida Peninsula in the Gulf of Mexico. It is in this bay where mermaid has lived for generations that mermaid is facing an endangered situation due to the development of the peninsula, the sudden increase of population and industrial pollution in the past 10 years.
Dugong is quiet and slow, and always seems to be sleepy during the day. After eating, he spends most of his time diving into the seabed 30-40 meters deep and lying on rocks and other places to kill time. The light gray body color is hard to find. It likes to live in shallow coastal waters and never takes risks in the deep sea. Every evening or dawn, they forage everywhere and eat seaweed or other algae. Eat dozens of pounds every day, and eat a lot. It grinds food with molars, not ruminants like cattle.
Dugong can't have children without water. The pregnancy of Confucianism may be one year. The newborn dugong's tail curls forward and its swimming ability is weak. Mother often lifts it from the water and takes the first breath. Dugong's breasts are located between pectoral fins, similar to human breasts, which is perhaps the biggest reason why it is called mermaid. Some people even say that it uses its forelimbs to hold the baby's bust out of the water for food, which looks like a human. In fact, it floats sideways on the water, slightly sideways, and the little Confucian eyes are inclined to the mother, sucking the nipple and sucking milk.
Dugong likes to live in warm waters. When the water temperature is lower than 15℃, it is easy to get pneumonia and die, so it is more common in Guangdong, Guangxi, Taiwan Province Province and Fujian coastal areas. Several other manatees also live in warm waters.
The skin of dugong (including other manatees) can be tanned, and the meat is delicious and nutritious, which is better than beef. Oil is a valuable medicinal material, similar to fish liver. It is effective for patients with lung disease or the weak. Teeth and bones can be used as substitutes for ivory carving. Dugong is full of treasures, so it is hunted in large numbers and is on the verge of extinction, so it needs protection.