---
title: "African Manatee"
description: "Trichechus senegalensis — Mammiferi. The African manatee (Trichechus senegalensis), also known as the West African manatee, is a species of manatee that inhabits much of Western Africa – from Senegal to Angola."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/it/animal/african-manatee
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# African Manatee

> Trichechus senegalensis — Mammiferi. The African manatee (Trichechus senegalensis), also known as the West African manatee, is a species of manatee that inhabits much of Western Africa – from Senegal to Angola.

- Scientific name: *Trichechus senegalensis*
- Category: `mammals` (Mammiferi)
- Habitats: `freshwater` (Laghi e fiumi)
- iNaturalist observations: 53
- Wikidata: [Q387297](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q387297)
- iNaturalist taxon: [46320](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/46320)

## Names

- en: African Manatee
- de: Afrikanischer Manati
- es: Manatí de África Occidental
- fr: Lamantin d'Afrique
- nl: West-Afrikaanse lamantijn
- pt: Peixe-boi-africano
- pl: Manat afrykański

## Countries with the most observations

CM (17), SN (16), GA (4), GH (4), NG (4)

## Summary

The African manatee (Trichechus senegalensis), also known as the West African manatee, is a species of manatee that inhabits much of Western Africa – from Senegal to Angola.  It is the only manatee species to be found in the Old World, as well as one of the two living sirenians that live in the Old World, the other being the dugong.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African_manatee

## Photo

![African Manatee](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/african-manatee/medium.jpg)

Photo: Gameraquai · CC0 · commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:African_manatee_at_Coex_Aquarium,_South_Korea.jpg

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/african-manatee?lang=it` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).