Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
Hydrodamalis gigas

Hydrodamalis gigas

9.9
An extinct very large sea cow that lived in the Bering Sea and ate kelp
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : vaca marina de Steller
  • The extinction of Hydrodamalis gigas is considered one of the earliest documented cases of human-caused marine extinction.

Examples

  • Unlike other sirenians, Hydrodamalis gigas had no true teeth, only keratinous plates for feeding on kelp.

  • Researchers discovered bones belonging to Hydrodamalis gigas on a remote Bering Sea island.

  • The Hydrodamalis gigas was a massive marine mammal.

  • Did you know that Hydrodamalis gigas was once abundant in the Bering Sea?

  • Researchers discovered bones belonging to Hydrodamalis gigas on a remote Bering Sea island.

  • The extinction of Hydrodamalis gigas is considered one of the earliest documented cases of human-caused marine extinction.

  • Unlike other sirenians, Hydrodamalis gigas had no true teeth, only keratinous plates for feeding on kelp.

Synonyms

Steller's sea cow
vsHydrodamalis gigas
  • Specialized
9.9

A very large extinct sea animal that lived near the Bering Sea

is the scientific name for that same species

Surface Forms

Hydrodamalis gigas singular
Hydrodamalis gigas plural

Morphology

Hydrodamalis + gigas

This is a taxonomic binomial combining the genus name Hydrodamalis (large, extinct marine mammals related to dugongs) with the epithet gigas, which is a common Latin/Greek root meaning 'giant'. Because the name is compositional (genus + descriptive epithet) and not idiomatic, a learner who knows both constituent meanings can infer it denotes a very large Hydrodamalis (Steller's sea cow).

Etymology

Hydrodamalis gigas comes from Greek word parts that make a clear picture: hydro means 'water' and gigas means 'giant', so the name literally means 'giant water animal'. That's why it is the name for the huge, now extinct 'Steller's sea cow'.