Dugong
Dugong dugon
The dugong is a marine mammal and one of four surviving members of the order Sirenia, which also takes in the three manatee species. It is the last living representative of the formerly diverse family Dugongidae; its nearest modern relative, Steller's sea cow, was hunted to extinction in the 18th century.
Family
Dugongidae
Avg Size
250-300 cm
Habitat
Dugongs occupy warm coastal waters from the western Pacific to the eastern coast of Africa, spread along an estimated 140,000 kilometres (87,000 mi) of shoreline between about 26-27 degrees north and south of the equator. Their historic range is thought to have matched the distribution of seagrasses in the Potamogetonaceae and Hydrocharitaceae families, and today's highly fragmented populations are believed to mark the limits of that former range.
Behaviour
Like other sirenians, dugongs are called "sea cows" because their diet is mostly seagrass, especially of the genera Halophila and Halodule. They usually consume the entire plant, roots included, but will take just the leaves when the roots are out of reach. A wide variety of seagrasses has been found in their stomachs, and they turn to algae when seagrass is scarce. Though almost wholly herbivorous, they occasionally eat invertebrates such as jellyfish, sea squirts and shellfish.
