---
title: "What the sources say about the Dugong | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "52 claims from the Dugong profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
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# What the sources say about the Dugong (*Dugong dugon*)

> 52 claims from the Dugong profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Dugong](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/dugong/)

## Dugong (Dugong dugon) longevity, ageing, and life history. AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database.

https://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Dugong_dugon

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| may live more than 50 years | It is estimated that these animals live more than 50 years in the wild (note: tagline) |
| Dugongs are estimated to live more than 50 years in the wild, and one estimate suggests they may reach 73. | It is estimated that these animals live more than 50 years in the wild, with one estimate suggesting that they may live up to 73 years |
| grazes seagrass for an estimated 50 years or more | It is estimated that these animals live more than 50 years in the wild, with one estimate suggesting that they may live up to 73 years (note: vibe.reason; same quote as the body claim "Dugongs are estimated to live more than 50 years in the wild") |

## Macdonald. Dugong dugon (dugong). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Dugong_dugon/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| rips up seagrass with a flexible upper lip | Dugongs use their flexible upper lip to rip up entire seagrass plants. (note: tagline) |
| A sea cow | Dugongs ( Dugong dugon ), also known as sea cows |
| Tropical coastal waters, generally shallow, from East Africa to Vanuatu | encompassing tropical waters from East Africa to Vanuatu (note: stats.habitat) |
| generally shallow | Dugongs generally inhabit shallow waters (note: stats.habitat) |
| Seagrass, and marine algae when seagrass is scarce | When seagrass is scarce, dugongs also eat marine algae. (note: stats.diet) |
| Seagrass, and marine algae when seagrass is scarce | They consume seagrass, particularly of the families Potamogetonaceae and Hydrocharitaceae (note: stats.diet) |
| Rips up whole seagrass plants with a flexible upper lip | Dugongs use their flexible upper lip to rip up entire seagrass plants. (note: stats.superpower) |
| Dugongs are plant-eating grazers. | Dugongs are primary consumers |
| Seagrass is their main food | Seagrass beds consisting of phanerogamous seagrasses, their primary source of nourishment |
| they harvest it with a flexible upper lip that rips up entire plants | Dugongs use their flexible upper lip to rip up entire seagrass plants. |
| If a plant will not come up whole, the dugong tears off the leaves. | If the entire plant cannot be uprooted, they rip off leaves. |
| The grazing leaves furrows in the seagrass bed that can be seen from the surface. | Their grazing leaves distinctive furrows in the seagrass beds that can be detected from the surface. |
| Sensory bristles cover a dugong's upper lip and help it find food. | Sensory bristles that cover their upper lip assist in locating food. |
| Bristles also cover the rest of its body. | Bristles also cover the dugong’s body. |
| An adult dugong weighs 230 to 400 kg and is 2.4 to 4 m long. | Adult dugongs weigh from 230 to 400 kg and can range from 2.4 to 4 m in length. |
| A long intestine aids the digestion of seagrass, and the dugong has a low metabolism. | Their long intestine aids the digestion of seagrass. They also have a low metabolism. |
| A dugong's age is estimated by counting the growth layers in a tusk. | which is estimated by counting the growth layers that make up a dugong’s tusks |
| Tusks are projections of the incisor teeth, and they are usually only visible through the skin in mature males and old females. | Tusks are present in all dugongs, but they are usually only visible through the skin in mature males, whose tusks are prominent, and in old females. Their tusks are projections of the incisor teeth. |
| Mating can be violent, and the protruding tusks leave scars on females and on competing males. | This can be violent, as witnessed by scars observed on the body of females and on competing males from their protruding tusks. |
| Dugongs live in tropical waters from East Africa to Vanuatu, about 26 degrees north and south of the equator. | encompassing tropical waters from East Africa to Vanuatu, about 26 degrees both north and south of the equator |
| The biggest population lives off northern Australia, between Shark Bay and Moreton Bay. | The largest population of sea cows is found in the northern waters of Australia between Shark Bay (Western Australia) and Moreton Bay (Queensland). |
| The second biggest lives in the Arabian Gulf. | The second largest population is found in the Arabian Gulf. |
| They stay in shallow water, usually about 10 m deep, and occasionally dive as deep as 39 m to feed. | Dugongs generally inhabit shallow waters, remaining at depths of around 10 m, although they occasionally dive to depths of 39 m to feed. |
| Their nostrils sit on top of the head, and valves keep them shut during a dive. | Paired nostrils, used in ventilation when the dugong surfaces every few minutes, are located on top of the head. Valves keep them shut during dives. |
| A dugong surfaces every few minutes to breathe. | used in ventilation when the dugong surfaces every few minutes |
| They chirp, whistle and bark to communicate. | dugongs use chirps, whistles, barks and other sounds that echo underwater in order to communicate |
| they use hearing more than sight | dugongs have developed exceptional hearing, which they use more than their sight |
| Their eyesight is poor | The vision of dugongs, however, is quite poor |
| Sharks, crocodiles and killer whales feed on juveniles. | Sharks , crocodiles , and killer whales , however, feed on juvenile dugongs. |
| hunted to extinction | Hydrodamalis gigas (Steller’s sea cow), hunted to extinction |
| 7 to 10 m long | with a body length of 7 to 10 m |
| No, though they are cousins. A dugong's tail has a straight or concave edge and works like a propeller, while a manatee's tail is shaped like a paddle. | a tail with a straight or concave perimeter that is used as a propeller. Their tail differentiates them from manatees, the tail of which is paddle-shaped. |
| Pregnancy lasts 13 to 14 months, and a female produces one calf every 2.5 to 7 years, depending on where she lives. | they only produce one calf every 2.5 to 7 years depending on location. This may be due to the long gestation period, which is between 13 and 14 months. (note: 'may be due to' hedges the cause of the slow rate, not the 13 to 14 month gestation) |
| The calf weighs about 30 kg at birth and suckles for 18 months or longer. | At birth, calves are about 30 kg in weight, 1.2 m in length, and very vulnerable to predators. Calves nurse for 18 months or longer |
| Threats include hunting, fishing nets, boat strikes and habitat loss. | The are hunted by some ethnic tribes in Australia and Malaysia, caught in gill and mesh nets set by fishers, struck by boats and ships, and are losing habitat and resources due to anthropogenic activities. (note: 'some' scopes who hunts dugongs, not whether hunting is a threat) |
| Tusks that tell its age | which is estimated by counting the growth layers that make up a dugong’s tusks (note: heading) |
| They are quite shy: approached with care, they investigate a diver or boat from long range but hesitate to come closer. | They are quite shy, and when approached cautiously, they investigate diver or boat at a long range but hesitate to come any closer. |
| Shy and shark-wary | They are quite shy (note: heading; shark-wary is the Shark Bay tiger shark study below) |
| A lip that ploughs the seabed | Their grazing leaves distinctive furrows in the seagrass beds (note: heading) |
| A dugong has a low metabolism | Their long intestine aids the digestion of seagrass. They also have a low metabolism. (note: vibe.reason; same quote as the body claim "A long intestine aids the digestion of seagrass, and the dug") |

## Wirsing, Heithaus & Dill (2007). Fear factor: do dugongs (Dugong dugon) trade food for safety from tiger sharks (Galeocerdo cuvier)? Oecologia.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-007-0802-3

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| In Shark Bay, dugongs used shallow and deep water in proportion to the food in each when large tiger sharks were scarce. | Foragers used shallow and deep habitats in proportion to food availability (input matching) when large tiger sharks were scarce |
| When large tiger sharks were common, they overused the deep water, which the study calls safe but impoverished. | overused deep habitats when sharks were common (note: 'safe but impoverished': 'allocating time to safe but impoverished foraging patches') |
| The authors describe an apparent food-safety trade-off. | This apparent food-safety trade-off has important implications for seagrass community structure in Shark Bay |

## Springer et al. (2015). Interordinal gene capture, the phylogenetic position of Steller’s sea cow based on molecular and morphological data, and the macroevolutionary history of Sirenia. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2015.05.022

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Its family once included Steller's sea cow | support the inclusion of H. gigas in Dugongidae with D. dugon and fossil dugongids |
| a North Pacific giant | was a large, edentulous North Pacific sirenian |
| around 1768 | The recently extinct (ca. 1768) Steller's sea cow (note: ADW gives 1767 alongside an internally inconsistent '36 years after their discovery'; the 2015 paper's ca. 1768 is used) |

## Marsh & Sobtzick (2019). Dugong dugon. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019: e.T6909A160756767.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2015-4.rlts.t6909a160756767.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The IUCN Red List rates the dugong Vulnerable. | IUCN Red List category: Vulnerable (VU). |
| Vulnerable | IUCN Red List category: Vulnerable (VU). (note: stats.conservationStatus; species-level assessment 2015 via GBIF's copy; GBIF check noted here, not cited) |
| It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. | IUCN Red List category: Vulnerable (VU). |