dugong

Noun

dugong (plural dugongs)

1. A plant-eating sirenian of the species Dugong dugon, found in tropical regions and having a fluked tail.
   • The Ceylong dugong is an extraordinary and interesting animal which is often seen on the coast. It is plentiful in and about the Gulf of Manaar, and resembles somewhat a huge, thickly-made, bluff-headed seal.1914, Marcus W. Millett, Jungle Sport in Ceylon from Elephant to Snipe, page 84
   • “What are those things that aren’t seals? Much worse than seals. Big, blubbery things. Dugongs.”1988, Douglas Adams, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul, William Heinemann Ltd, page 37
2. Any animal of the family Dugongidae, of which the monotypic genus Dugong is the only extant kind.

   Synonyms:

   dugongid