Noun
An aquatic herbivorous mammal (Halicore dugong), of the order Sirenia, allied to the manatee, but with a bilobed tail. It inhabits the Red Sea, Indian Ocean, East Indies, and Australia.
Source: Webster's dictionaryAfter Australian waters with some 80,000 dugong inhabitants, the waters off Qatar, Bahrain, UAE, and Saudi Arabia have some 7,500 dugongs remaining, making the Persian Gulf the second most important habitat for the species. Source: Internet
Etymology and taxonomy seeAlso The word "dugong" derives from the Tagalog term dugong which was in turn adopted from the Malay duyung, both meaning "lady of the sea". citation Other common local names include "sea cow", "sea pig" and "sea camel". Source: Internet
A wide variety of seagrass has been found in dugong stomach contents, and evidence exists they will eat algae when seagrass is scarce. Source: Internet
Because they are shy, and do not approach humans, little is known about dugong behaviour. Source: Internet
Despite this, the dugong population is thought to be shrinking, with a worldwide decline of 20 per cent in the last 90 years. Source: Internet
Dugongs' or sea cows' hides have been thought Rupell, E. (Rupell and Leuckart, 1828, 1831) saw the Arabic word tucash (dugong) as equivalent to tahash (Heb. Source: Internet