Diet
No. |
Steller's Latin text |
from Miller's translation |
Probably the following brown and red algae*)Domning 1978, P. 112 |
1 |
Crispum Brassicae Sabaudicae cancellatum |
sea-cabbage with cancellate leaf |
Agarum gmelini, A. turneri, A. pertusum,
Thalassiophyllum clathrus |
2 |
Fucum clavae facie |
that which has the shape of a club |
Nereocystis luetkeana, Dumontia fucicola |
3 |
Fucum scuticae antique Romanae facie |
that which has the shape of an ancient Roman shield |
Constantinea rosa marina |
4 |
Fucum longissimum limbis ad nervum undulatis |
a very long seaweed with a wavy ruffle along the stalk |
Alarum esculenta |
Thalassiophyllum clathrus
|
They rejected uprooted kelp that drifted around.
They probably swallowed their food almost unchewed. Seacows are no ruminants, the food had to be broken down in their 150 meters long intestines.
Their excrement resembled those of horses
*)de Bestiis, translated by Miller, P. 32.
Their only food competitors were the sea urchins. These however
were the main diet of the numerous sea otters, who kept the urchin population in check.
In the dark winter months the kelp growths almost halted, and the food supply became scarce. The seacows had to live on their blubber .