The fourth is the Eastern Hemisphere's dugong.

Its tail is paddle-shaped, and is the clearest visible difference between manatees and dugongs ; a dugong tail is fluked, similar in shape to a that of a whale.

One of the most unique marine mammals living in the Persian Gulf is Dugong dugon, commonly referred to as the dugong, or the " sea cow ".

The dugong is the only herbivorous marine mammal in Australia, feeding on sea grass in coastal areas.

The Sirens of Greek mythology are often confused with the GorgonsGorgonsportrayed in later folklore as half women-half birds, ( birds sing beautiful, enchanting songs, like the sirens are portrayed to do ); the fact that in Spanish, French, Italian, Polish, Romanian and Portuguese the word for mermaid is respectively Sirena, Sirène, Sirena, Syrena, Sirenă and Sereia, and that in biology the Sirenia comprise an order of fully aquatic mammals that includes the dugong and manatee, add to the visual confusion, so that Sirens are even represented as mermaids.

The dugong ( Dugong dugon ) is a large marine mammal which, together with the manatees, is one of four living species of the order Sirenia.

The dugong is the only strictly marine herbivorous mammal, as all species of manatee use fresh water to some degree.

With its long lifespan of 70 years or more, and slow rate of reproduction, the dugong is especially vulnerable to extinction.

The skull of a dugong is unique.

The dugong is the only strictly-marine herbivorous mammal, as all species of manatee utilise fresh water to some degree.

Despite this, the dugong population is thought to be shrinking, with a worldwide decline of 20 per cent in the last 90 years.

The Persian Gulf has the second-largest dugong population in the world, inhabiting most of the southern coast, and the current population is believed to be around 7, 500.

Because they are shy, and do not approach humans, little is known about dugong behaviour.

A wide variety of seagrass has been found in dugong stomach contents, and evidence exists they will eat algae when seagrass is scarce.

There is a 5, 000-year old wall painting of a dugong, apparently drawn by neolithic peoples, in Tambun Cave of Ipoh city in the state of Perak, Malaysia.

The Pokémon character Dewgong is very loosely based on the dugong, with fictional adaptations including a horn on its head for breaking through sea ice .< ref >

The sea cow grew to at least in length as an adult, much larger than the manatee or dugong ; however, concerning their weight, Steller's work contains two contradictory estimates: The true value is estimated to lie between these figures, at around 8 to 10 t. It looked somewhat like a large seal, but had two stout forelimbs and a whale-like fluke.

It is described as over 7 m long with a mass of 5000 kg, which are far in excess of what a dugong would measure and weigh, though they would be appropriate for Steller's sea cow, which was to be found in colder northern waters, although it had already been extinct for a century by then.

The IUCN lists the dugong as a species vulnerable to extinction, while the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species limits or bans the trade of derived products.

Molecular studies have been made on dugong populations using mitochondrial DNA.

The colour of a dugong can change due to the growth of algae on the skin.

The dugong lacks nails on its flippers, which are only 15 % of a dugong's body length.

Large bays facing north on the Queensland coast provide significant habitats for dugong, with the southernmost of these being Hervey Bay and Moreton Bay.

A salt-water lagoon on the island was used as a temporary home to a dugong called Pig.

This was and remains a controversial decision, since the projected site involved construction on a coral reef and seagrass beds which are the habitat of the dugong, an endangered marine mammal protected under Japanese and U. S. law.

Presently () Patel's docket includes the ongoing case of Okinawa Dugong v. Rumsfeld, in which an environmental group seeks to prevent the construction of a military runway on the island of Okinawa, citing the hazard this may pose to the okinawa dugong, an endangered marine mammal.

After 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.

The dugong has been hunted for thousands of years for its meat and oil.

Only certain seagrass meadows are suitable for dugong consumption, due to the dugong's highly specialised diet.

Despite the longevity of the dugong, which may live for 50 years or more, females give birth only a few times during their life, and invest considerable parental care in their young.

They are often considered as the inspiration for mermaids, and people around the world developed cultures around dugong hunting.

Sirenians, including manatees and the dugong, have major aquatic adaptations: arms used for steering, a paddle used for propulsion, hind limbs ( legs ) are two small bones floating deep in the muscle.

The Inhambane Bay area is of some interest for tourism, with a number of beaches, and one of the last remaining populations of dugong in Mozambique.

The supplement in 1776 contained the first scientific classification for a number of species, including the dugong, guanaco, potto, tricolored heron, umbrella cockatoo, red-vented cockatoo, and the enigmatic hoatzin.

Coastal managers are concerned that eventually one day Jumpinpin may repair itself which may cause problems for tidal waterway management including fish stocks, dugong habitat, erosion and flooding.

The sea grass beds along the coast are among the largest remaining feeding grounds for the globally endangered dugong.

Princess Charlotte Bay is a part of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and it is a habitat for the dugong.

The bay is the only place in Australia where dugong gather into herds.

The biggest of the oyster middens was at White Patch, where dugong were also plentiful.

Although they are marine creatures, dugongs have been known to travel up to up creeks, and in one case a dugong was caught up a creek near Cooktown.

On February 10 they encounter a female dugong in the Red Sea ; Nemo states that hunting has made sirenians scarce, yet Ned Land harpoons the animal to eat.

Islands, reefs, channels and the resources they contain belong to .. Mabuiag people because mythical ancestors like Sesere, Zigin, and Wad caught turtles, dugong, or fish there "

In Singapore, they obtained a dugong, of which they prepared drawings and a description that Raffles sent to the Royal Society.