海牛属（学名：Trichechus）是一类大型水生哺乳动物，在淡水或浅海中生活，以草食为主。属于海牛目海牛科（Trichechidae）的唯一一个属。目前海牛科下有三个海牛物种，它们分别是：亚马逊海牛、西印度海牛和西非海牛。成年海牛大约身长3-4米，体重600千克左右，有桨状的脚蹼。海牛目的名字来源于古代传说中，美人鱼形状的神秘生物，它们用歌声诱惑水手们走向死亡。在巴西，海牛被称为Peixe-boi（意为：牛鱼），在其他西班牙语系的国家被称为Vaca Marina（意为：海中的牛）。

另两种海牛目物种——儒艮及大海牛则属于儒艮科。

Manatees (family Trichechidae, genus Trichechus) are large, fully aquatic, mostly herbivorous marine mammals sometimes known as sea cows. There are three accepted living species of Trichechidae, representing three of the four living species in the order Sirenia: the Amazonian manatee (Trichechus inunguis), the West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus), and the West African manatee (Trichechus senegalensis). They measure up to 4.0 metres (13.1 ft) long, weigh as much as 590 kilograms (1,300 lb), and have paddle-like flippers. The name manatí comes from the Taíno, a pre-Columbian people of the Caribbean, meaning "breast".