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Dugong (Dugong dugon)

Smooth skin with short hairs

Laterally compressed peduncle

Whale-like fluke with slight median notch

Two nostrils at the front of the head

Downward deflected muzzle ending in rostral disk

Paddle-shaped flippers (lack fingernails)

Mammary glands in armpit (female)

  • 3 metres in length on average for adult

  • No dorsal fin

  • Two blowholes at the front of a broad head

  • Most commonly found in small groups but may be in large herds of 100+ individuals

  • Long lived, possibly in excess of 70 years

  • Feeds on seagrass

  • 7 years to reach reproductive age; 13 to 14 month gestation; calves weaned at 18 months

  • Dives to 11 minutes but usually shorter and may roll like a cetacean before diving

  • Listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List

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