: an aquatic, herbivorous, usually brownish-gray mammal (Dugong dugon) that inhabits warm coastal waters chiefly of southern Asia, Australia, and eastern Africa and resembles the related manatee but differs in having a notched tail divided into two lobes and upper incisors which grow into small tusks in the male
Note:
The dugong commonly attains a length of 8 feet (2.4 meters) or more. It is the sole living species in its taxonomic family (Dugongidae) which also includes the extinct Steller's sea cow and various sirenians known only from fossilized remains.
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Researchers using drones to survey the waters off the coast of Thailand spotted a large herd of 23 dugongs — a sign conservation efforts are paying off, wildlife officials said.—Lauren Liebhaber, Miami Herald, 28 Apr. 2025 About 30 mammals — including whales, dolphins, dugongs, seals, walruses, otters, and beavers — started on land, before venturing into water even part time.—Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 28 Apr. 2025 Seagrasses provide shelters, nurseries, and feeding grounds for thousands of species, including endangered animals such as dugongs, stalked jellyfish and smalltooth sawfish.—Ian Urbina, Los Angeles Times, 28 Mar. 2025 While manatees have a large, rounded and almost spoon-like tail, the tail of a dugong is fluked, looking more like the tail of a whale, according to the Marine Mammal Center.—Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 3 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for dugong
Word History
Etymology
New Latin, genus name, probably from dugung in Cebuano or a related Austronesian language of the central Philippines
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