# Dugong (*Dugong dugon*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/dugong  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

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. 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.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 310 kg – 360 kg |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Lifespan | 70 years |
| Diet | Herbivore |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 73 years |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | marine |
| Gestation | 373 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 1 |
| Age at maturity | 9.5 years |
| Litters or clutches a year | 0.22 |
| Active | Day and night (cathemeral) |
| Lifestyle | Marine |
| Conservation status | Vulnerable (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Mammalia
- order: Sirenia
- family: Dugongidae
- genus: Dugong
- species: *Dugong 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*

## Common questions

### 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

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), 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](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), 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](https://commons.wikimedia.org), 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](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1), 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](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), 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).

Cite as: Dugong (Dugong dugon). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/dugong