Prelims 2013 · archive
EasyConsider the following animals:
- 1.Sea cow
- 2.Sea horse
- 3.Sea lion
Which of the above is/are mammal/mammals?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (b) 1 and 3 only
Answer: (b) 1 and 3 only. Sea cows (dugongs and manatees) and sea lions are warm-blooded marine mammals. The sea horse is a bony fish that breathes through gills.
- ✓ 1. 'Sea cow' is the common name of the dugong and the manatees, order Sirenia, class Mammalia. They live wholly in water but are mammals, like whales, dolphins and seals.
- ✗ 2. The sea horse (genus Hippocampus) belongs to the fish family Syngnathidae, along with the pipefishes. Despite its horse-like head, it is a fish that breathes through gills, not a mammal.
- ✓ 3. Sea lions belong to the pinnipeds ('fin- or flipper-footed'), the group of marine mammals that also includes seals. They feed in the sea but come ashore to rest and breed.
Remember · Names mislead here: 'sea cow' (dugong, manatee) and 'sea lion' are mammals, but 'sea horse' is a fish.
📘 Read it in NCERT: Class 12 Biology, Ch 6 (practise this chapter)
Sources
- NCERT Class 12 · Biology, Chapter 6 “some mammals live wholly in water. Whales, dolphins, seals and sea cows are some examples.”
- CMS (UNEP) – Dugong, Sea Cow, Dugong dugon ↗ “Species Dugong, Sea Cow Dugong dugon”
- FAO Species Identification Guide – Order Gasterosteiformes, Syngnathidae: Pipefishes and seahorses ↗ “Most species are taken incidentally as bycatch and can be found in markets as curios or aquarium fishes.”
- NOAA Fisheries – Seals & Sea Lions ↗ “Seals and sea lions belong to a group of marine mammals called pinnipeds, which means fin or flipper-footed.”
Question: UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) 2013, General Studies paper. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 25 Oct 2026 (how we verify). ·