Color vision in the manatee (Trichechus manatus)

Four manatees were trained to discriminate between a colored stimulus and a shade of gray in a two-fold simultaneous choice situation. The colors blue, green, red and blue-green were tested against shades of gray varying from low to high relative brightness. The animals distinguished both blue and green from a series of grays but failed to discriminate red and blue-green from certain steps of grays. The manatees could not discriminate between a UV-reflecting white target and an UV-absorbing white target. The results indicate that manatees possess color vision which is most likely dichromatic.