We will soon be receiving our articulated manatee skeleton from a
preparator "up north".  We've picked out a spot for the display of
this 7 foot long animal which will be hung from the ceiling.  However,

our preparator has run into a couple of snags/questions:

1. Can it be inferred from the size of the skeleton whether this
animal was male or female?  If not, are there any skeletal
indicators of sex?
2. Available information about the position and attachment of the
vestigial pelvic bone (VPB) is both confusing and contradictory.
Does it float within the body cavity or musculature or is it attached

by cartilage to the vertebral column (and if so to which specific
vertebra)?
3. The bones we sent to the preparator do not include the VPB.  The
Florida State Museum (who gifted us the skeleton) does not have any
pristine VPBs.  Can anyone loan us an intact VPB from which to make a

cast or, does anyone have a cast we could borrow in order to make our

own cast?

Finally, if anyone would be willing to share with me some of the
interpretive materials or sources they've used for Sirenia displays I

would be most appreciative.

Rhea Tannenbaum
Exhibits Coordinator
Gumbo Limbo Nature Center
Boca Raton, FL