Corystosiren

Corystosiren
Temporal range:
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Sirenia
Family: Dugongidae
Subfamily: Dugonginae
Genus: Corystosiren
Domning, 1990
Species
  • C. varguezi Domning, 1990 (type)

Corystosiren is an extinct genus of dugongid sirenian mammal which existed in the waters of the Caribbean Basin during the Early Pliocene. Fossils have been found in the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico, and Florida.[1]

Palaeobiology

Palaeoecology

Corystosiren varguezi, based on its high δ13C values, was a specialist that fed primarily on seagrasses.[2]

References

  1. ^ D. P. Domning. 1990. Fossil Sirenia of the West Atlantic and Caribbean Region, IV. Corystosiren varguezi, gen. et sp. nov. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 10(3):361-371
  2. ^ MacFadden, Bruce J.; Higgins, Pennilyn; Clementz, Mark T.; Jones, Douglas S. (Spring 2004). "Diets, habitat preferences, and niche differentiation of Cenozoic sirenians from Florida: evidence from stable isotopes". Paleobiology. 30 (2): 297–324. doi:10.1666/0094-8373(2004)030<0297:DHPAND>2.0.CO;2. ISSN 0094-8373. Retrieved 15 September 2025 – via Cambridge Core.