Dugong dugon
Dugong | Sea Cow
Distribution
Tropical Indo-Pacific
Description
Large tubby body, mouth under head, bristles around mouth, small eye, external ears as tiny openings. Although the population is declining, Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders continue to hunt dugongs for ceremonial and traditional purposes.
Information
Max Size: 300 cm
Sea Temperature Range: 22.9-29.5°C
Depth: 0-20m
Habitat Generalization Index: N/A
Also referred to as the SGI (Species Generalisation Index), this describes the habitat niche breadth of the species. Species with values less than 15 are found in a relatively narrow range of reef habitat types (specialists), while those over 25 may be found on most hard substrates within their range (generalists). Learn more here.
Conservation and Rarity
IUCN Status: Vulnerable
Occurrence: Infrequent (1.0% of sites)
Occurrence describes how often the species is found on surveys within its distribution. It is calculated as the % of reef sites surveyed by RLS divers across all the ecoregions in which the species has been observed
Abundance: Solitary (1 per transect)
Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.
Edit by: Joe Shields