Dugong
Dugong dugon (P. L. S. Müller, 1776)
The dugong (Dugong dugon), also called Sea cow or Dugong mudip, is a mammal in the order Sirenia and the family Dugongidae. It is a giant, marine herbivore with an adult body mass of 310 kg, and our sources report values up to 360 kg.
Quick facts about the dugong
It has 1 young per litter after a gestation period of 372.5 days (1 year), with 0.22 litters per year, and reaches sexual maturity at 9.5 years. Its lifespan is given as 70 years, with values up to 73 years, and the IUCN Red List classifies it as Vulnerable (VU), a threatened category.
- Weight
- 310 kg – 360 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 70 years – 73 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- marinesrc for Habitat
- Gestation
- 373 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 1src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 9.5 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 0.22src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- Day and night (cathemeral)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Marinesrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Vulnerable (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the dugong
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Where does the dugong live?
Not recorded
What is the dugong?
The dugong (; 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.
The dugong is the only sirenian in its range, which spans the waters of some 40 countries and territories throughout the Indo-West Pacific. The dugong is largely dependent on seagrass communities for subsistence and is thus restricted to the coastal habitats that support seagrass meadows, with the largest dugong concentrations typically occurring in wide, shallow, protected areas, such as bays, mangrove channels, the waters of large inshore islands, and inter-reefal waters. The northern waters of Australia between Shark Bay and Moreton Bay are believed to be the dugong's contemporary stronghold.
Like all modern sirenians, the dugong has a fusiform body with no dorsal fin or hind limbs. The forelimbs or flippers are paddle-like. The dugong is easily distinguishable from the manatees by its fluked, dolphin-like tail; it also possesses a unique skull and teeth. Its snout is sharply downturned, an adaptation for feeding in benthic seagrass communities. The molar teeth are simple and peg-like, unlike the more elaborate molar dentition of manatees.
The dugong has been hunted for thousands of years for its meat and oil. Traditional hunting still has great cultural significance in several parts of its modern range, particularly northern Australia and the Pacific Islands. The dugong's current distribution is fragmented, and many populations are believed to be close to extinction. 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. Despite it being legally protected in many countries, the main causes of population decline remain anthropogenic and include fishing-related fatalities, habitat degradation, and hunting. With its long lifespan of 70 years or more and slow rate of reproduction, the dugong is especially vulnerable to extinction.
From the Wikipedia article “Dugong” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dugong&oldid=1383736147), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the dugong endangered?
The dugong is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List: it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Vulnerable species.
How is the dugong classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderSirenia
- familyDugongidae
- genusDugong
- SpeciesDugong dugon (P. L. S. Müller, 1776)
Synonyms Dugong dugon dugon, Dugong dugon hemprichii, Dugong dugon tabernaculi, Dugong dugong, Halicore australis, Halicore dugong, Halicore halicore, Halicore tabernaculi, Trichechus dugon, Trichechus dugong, Trichecus dugon
Other names and names in other languages (38)
- Dugong mudipEnglish
- Sea cowEnglish
- Sea cowEnglish
- DoegongAfrikaans
- أطومArabic
- بقر البحرArabic
- Baghr al-BahrArabic
- ДзюгоньBelarusian
- dugong indickýCzech
- DygongDanish
- SeekuhGerman
- GabelschwanzseekuhGerman
- SeeschweinGerman
- ΝτιγκόνγκGreek
- ΝτουγκόνγκGreek
- DugonSpanish
- DugónSpanish
- dugongiFinnish
- תחש המשכןHebrew
- DuyongIndonesian
- DuyungIndonesian
- DugongoItalian
- ジュゴンJapanese
- 듀공Korean
- Babi LautMalay
- Lembu LautMalay
- mudepnem
- DoejongDutch
- Indische ZeekoeDutch
- MesekiuPalauan
- DiugońPolish
- Diugoń przybrzeżnyPolish
- PiersiopławkaPolish
- Обыкновенный дюгоньRussian
- พะยูนThai
- ДюгоньUkrainian
- Морська корова (дюгонь)Ukrainian
- 儒艮Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the dugong
Other species in the same genus Dugong.
CompareDugong vs Dugong indicus
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is a dugong?
The dugong is a mammal in the order Sirenia and the family Dugongidae. It is also called Sea cow or Dugong mudip.
How heavy is a dugong?
An adult dugong has a body mass of 310 kg, and our sources report values up to 360 kg.
What does a dugong eat?
The dugong is a herbivore.
Where does the dugong live?
The dugong lives in marine habitats.
Is the dugong endangered?
The dugong is listed as Vulnerable (VU) on the IUCN Red List, which is a threatened category.
How long does a dugong live?
The dugong's lifespan is given as 70 years, with values up to 73 years reported by our sources.
How many young does a dugong have?
A dugong has 1 young per litter, after a gestation period of 372.5 days (1 year), with 0.22 litters per year.
Who named the dugong?
The scientific name Dugong dugon is credited to (P. L. S. Müller, 1776).
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals · CC0 1.0 · 1.0
Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Dugong (Dugong dugon). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/dugong
“Dugong (Dugong dugon).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/dugong.
@misc{dugong_2026,
title = {Dugong (Dugong dugon)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/dugong},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}