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The dugong (/ ˈ d (j) uː ɡ ɒ ŋ /; Dugong dugon) is a marine mammal.It is one of four living species of the order Sirenia, which also includes three species of manatees.It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its closest modern relative, Steller's sea cow (Hydrodamalis gigas), was hunted to extinction in the 18th century.
[30] [32] Unlike manatees, the dugong lacks nails on its flippers, which are only 15% of a dugong's body length. [33] Manatees generally glide at speeds of 8 kilometres per hour (5 mph), but can reach speeds of 24 kilometres per hour (15 mph) in short bursts. [34] The body is fusiform to reduce drag in the water.
The manatee's tail is paddle-shaped, and is the clearest visible difference between manatees and dugongs; a dugong tail is fluked, similar in shape to that of a whale. The manatee is unusual among mammals in having just six cervical vertebrae , [ 11 ] a number that may be due to mutations in the homeotic genes . [ 12 ]
The largest living species in the order Sirenia of dugongs and manatees is the West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus). The largest manatees are found in the Florida subspecies. The maximum recorded size of this species was 1,655 kg (3,649 lb) and a total length of 4.6 m (15 ft). [26] [129]
Manatees make seasonal movements synchronized with the flood regime of the Amazon Basin. [7] They are found in flooded forests and meadows during the flood season, when food is abundant. [7] The Amazonian manatee has the smallest degree of rostral deflection (25° to 41°) among sirenians, an adaptation to feed closer to the water surface. [18]
The now-extinct species of dugong, a manatee-like marine mammal, was swimming in the sea about 15 million years ago when it was preyed upon by two animals: a crocodile and a tiger shark.
FILE - Serena, a dugong, swims at the Toba Aquarium in Toba, Japan on Sept. 5, 2012. Populations of the vulnerable species of marine mammal, numerous species of abalone and a type of Caribbean ...
A humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) A leopard seal (Hydrurga leptonyx). Marine mammals are mammals that rely on marine (saltwater) ecosystems for their existence. They include animals such as cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises), pinnipeds (seals, sea lions and walruses), sirenians (manatees and dugongs), sea otters and polar bears.