Evolution of... well, I don't want to spoil the surprise, but it's manatees and dugongs. #evolution

That amazing photo of the manatee foot was by Fritz Geller-Grimm, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolution_of_sirenians#/media/File:Trichechus_manatus_fg01.JPG

Dugongs and Manatees, often called sea-cows, are members of the group called Sirenia, an order of herbivorous mammals that evolved from a common ancestor with Elephants.

To be clear, manatees and dugongs (sirenians) did not evolve from elephants, elephants and sirenians both evolved, down separate paths, from a common relative. Researchers now think that common ancestor was a medium sized, semiaquatic creature similar to the fossil genus, Moeritherium.

Elephants are no longer considered "aquatic mammals" but it's well known that they still love swimming! A family of elephants once famously swam across the Johor Strait (about a mile of sea water) and tried to settle on Tekong Island, a military base in Singapore. This caused all sorts drama for soldiers who had to get the protected animals safely off their base.

Interestingly, modern elephants have several traits usually associated with aquatic life that help them swim, including internal testis, and a muscle inside the ear canal that closes tightly shut when swimming. https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/physiol.00008.2007

The earhole in manatees still exists but is small pinched closed all the time by surrounding fat and muscle. It clogs with cellular debris as they mature. https://diginole.lib.fsu.edu/islandora/object/fsu:254627/datastream/PDF/view

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