dugong

noun

du·​gong ˈdü-ˌgäŋ 

-ˌgȯŋ

plural dugongs also dugong

: 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.

Illustration of dugong

Examples of dugong in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The lodge’s parent company, Resplendent Ceylon (a part of Sri Lanka’s famous Dilmah tea brand), finances conservation projects for elephants living inland at Udawalawe National Park, as well as for dugongs, an endangered marine mammal found off the country’s eastern and western shores. —Prasad Ramamurthy, Travel + Leisure, 18 Sep. 2024

In a separate find, a different tiger shark that the team had previously tagged, threw up what appeared to be half a dugong. —Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 6 June 2024

There’s no reliable method yet to convert the number of feeding trails to the number of dugongs, but Cossa estimates that as many as 10 or even 20 dugongs now graze in Maputo Bay. —Danna Staaf, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Feb. 2024

Meanwhile, indiscriminate fishing tools such as gill nets ensnare and drown dugongs. —Danna Staaf, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Feb. 2024

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, genus name, probably from dugung in Cebuano or a related Austronesian language of the central Philippines

First Known Use

1800, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

dugong

noun

du·​gong ˈdü-ˌgäng 

-ˌgȯng

: a mammal that lives in water, eats plants, and is related to the manatees but has a two-lobed tail and tusks in the male