Sirenians, animals that still exist today, are medium-to-large mammals that live in fresh, brackish or marine waters of tropical or intertropical areas. They have stout bodies with short necks and flipper-like forelimbs. They lack hind limbs, their pelvis is reduced and their tail has horizontal caudal fins, like in dolphins. They have a massive skull and large external nostrils. The skeleton has many pachyosteosclerotic (dense and bulky) bones, vertebrae and ribs, unlike other mammals that have spongy bones. The molars are of a primitive type. Today’s specimens are the Dugong and the Manatee. The museum houses sirenians remains from the site of Monte Duello (Verona, middle Eocene) and Possagno (Treviso, upper Eocene), namely the Prototherium veronense and the Prototherium intermedium, respectively.
