What is a dugong diet?
Diet. Dugongs are sometimes called ‘sea cows’ because they graze on seagrasses. These marine plants look like grass growing on a sandy sea floor in shallow, warm water. Dugongs need to eat large amounts of seagrass.
What is the average lifespan of a dugong?
With its long lifespan of 70 years or more, and slow rate of reproduction, the dugong is especially vulnerable to extinction.
Are dugongs rare?
A large adult reaches up to 2.6m and weighs about 300kg, which is comparable to the weight of a large adult tiger. They’re also rather rare: they are found only in the Indo-West Pacific region, from Mozambique in the west to New Caledonia in the east, and are considered vulnerable to extinction.
Is a dugong a manatee?
Dugongs are related to manatees and are similar in appearance and behavior— though the dugong’s tail is fluked like a whale’s. Both are related to the elephant, although the giant land animal is not at all similar in appearance or behavior.
How many dugongs die every year?
Last month I suggested about 1,000 dugongs are killed each year in northern Australian waters and that this is too many. Today, ABC Online is quoting fisherman Peter Manning suggesting a figure of 1,600 dugongs.
Is Dugong a fish?
The dugong is large marine mammal, usually around 3 metres in length and weighing around 420 kg. They have a flat tail and flippers like a whale, but are more closely related to an elephant and evolved 50 to 60 million years ago, when an elephant like creature entered the water.
Is a sea cow real?
Sea cow, (Hydrodamalis gigas), also called Steller’s sea cow, very large aquatic mammal, now extinct, that once inhabited nearshore areas of the Komandor Islands in the Bering Sea. Today, the term sea cow is sometimes used to refer to other sirenians, namely, the manatee and the dugong.
Why is it called sea cow?
Dugongs, along with other sirenians, are referred to as “sea cows” because their diet consists mainly of seagrass.
How do you pronounce dugong?
Break ‘dugong’ down into sounds: [DOO] + [GONG] – say it out loud and exaggerate the sounds until you can consistently produce them. Record yourself saying ‘dugong’ in full sentences, then watch yourself and listen.
Where is a sea cows eye?
In addition to those within its mouth, the sea cow also had stiff bristles 10–12.7 cm (3.9–5.0 in) long protruding from its muzzle. Steller’s sea cow had small eyes located halfway between its nostrils and ears with black irises, livid eyeballs, and canthi which were not externally visible.
Is a sea cow and a manatee the same thing?
Sea cows, also known as Sirenians, are defined by four species, the best known in the United States being our Florida resident, the manatee. There are two other species of manatee in the Atlantic Ocean, as well as the dugong, from the Indo-Pacific.