An extinct marine mammal from the Eocene epoch that was an early relative of modern manatees and dugongs.
From Greek 'hals' (sea) and 'therion' (beast), combining to mean 'sea animal.' The term was coined in the 19th century by paleontologists studying fossil remains of early sirenians.
Halitherium lived 50 million years ago and represents a missing link in how sea cows evolved—it had four limbs with finger bones inside its flippers, showing its land-dwelling ancestors hadn't fully adapted to ocean life yet.
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