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Wikipedia:Today's featured article/requests/Steller's sea cow

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Steller's sea cow

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This is the archived discussion of the TFAR nomination for the article below. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as Wikipedia talk:Today's featured article/requests). Please do not modify this page.

The result was: scheduled for Wikipedia:Today's featured article/September 2, 2017 by Jimfbleak - talk to me? 12:35, 19 August 2017 (UTC)[reply]

Skeleton at the Finnish Museum of Natural History

Steller's sea cow (Hydrodamalis gigas) is an extinct species of sirenian first discovered by Europeans in 1741. At the time of its discovery, the sea cow was found only around the Commander Islands, located in the Bering Sea. Steller's sea cow would reach weights of 8–10 metric tons (8.8–11.0 short tons) and lengths of up to 9 metres (30 ft). Steller's sea cow had a thicker layer of blubber than other members of the order due to the cold waters of its environment. The sea cow had two keratinous plates for chewing instead of teeth. Steller's sea cow fed mainly on kelp, and communicated via sighs and snorting sounds. It was monogamous, lived in small family groups, and raised its young. The sea cow was named for Georg Wilhelm Steller, a naturalist who discovered the species in 1741 after he was shipwrecked on Bering Island. His observations were documented in his posthumous publication The Beasts of the Sea. Within 27 years of discovery by Europeans, Steller's sea cow was hunted into extinction for its meat, fat, and hide. (Full article...)