Dusisiren is a sirenian exemplar of the evolutionary theory of punctuated equilibrium. It evolved from a mangrove-eating ancestor to adapt to cold climates in the North Pacific by developing the capability to feed on kelp beds out on the open coast. The incipient modifications to the cervicals suggest that it was capable of maneuvering and feeding in high-energy environments of surf-swept coasts with deep, cold water.[2][3]
^ abD. P. Domning. 1978. Sirenian evolution in the North Pacific Ocean. University of California Publications in Geological Sciences 118:1-176
^Wallace, David, 2007. Neptune's Ark: From Ichthyosaurs to Orcas. University of California Press, Berkeley. Pp. 123-124.
^R. Kellogg. 1925. A new fossil sirenian from Santa Barbara County, California. Carnegie Institution of Washington 348:9-11
^S. Takahashi, D. P. Domning, and T. Saito. 1986. Dusisiren dewana, n. sp. (Mammalia: Sirenia), a new ancestor of Stellers sea cow from the upper Miocene of Yamagata prefecture, northeastern Japan. Transactions and Proceedings of the Palaeontological Society of Japan N. S. 141:296-321
^S. Kobayashi, H. Horikawa, and S. Miyazaki. 1995. A new species of Sirenia (Mammalia: Hydrodamalinae) from the Shiotsubo Formation in Takasato, Aizu, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 15(4):815-829
