What temperature do dugongs live in?
Dugongs are only found in the Indo-west Pacific, between about 26 and 27 degrees north and south of the equator, as they need water temperatures above 18 degrees Celcius to survive.
Are dugongs endothermic?
Dugongs occupy a unique niche as the only herbivorous, fully marine mammals. As endothermic herbivores, dugongs at higher latitudes exhibit some behavioural/energetic offsets to temperature drops, including seasonal omnivory (Preen, 1995) and regional movements (Preen, 1992; Lanyon, 2003).
Do dugongs go on land?
Though they resemble cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises), dugongs and manatees are believed to be descendants of land mammals that make them more closely related to elephants than whales. 5. Dugongs live only in coastal waters of the Pacific and Indian Oceans from east Africa to the Red Sea and Australia.
Are dugongs and manatees the same?
Some people mistakenly think dugongs and manatees are the exact same animal with different names. Though manatees and dugongs have a lot in common, they are different animals with distinct characteristics. Both dugongs and manatees are part of the same taxonomic order, Sirena.
Is Dugong extinct?
Vulnerable
What are dugongs predators?
What are the main predators of the dugong? Dugongs are sometimes at risk of being attacked by sharks, crocodiles, and killer whales that lurk near the coastal regions of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Humans are also a threat.
What do you call a baby dugong?
The dugong (Dugong dugon) is a large mammal that lives its whole life in the sea. They are sometimes called “sea cows” as they eat large amounts of sea grass. They live in warm, shallow areas where the sea grass grows. A baby dugong is called a calf.
How can we save dugongs?
How you can help protect dugongs
- Protect habitat: Avoid damaging seagrass an don’t drag boats over seagrass meadows.
- Mesh nets: Prohibitions and restrictions on the use of nets by commercial fishers in dugong protection areas are available in the Fisheries Regulations 1995.
Why are dugongs like elephants?
Dugongs are more closely related to elephants than to other marine mammals such as whales and dolphins. They are sometimes referred to as ‘sea cows’ because they feed almost exclusively on sea grass.
What is the closest animal to an elephant?
Hyraxes