### animal | vertebrate | mammal:

Dugong
* All dugongs have tusks that break the skin.
* Many dugong die in turtle and shark nets annually and others are harpooned for their meat
  - dugongs die from overhunting by man for their meat, oil, skin, teeth and bones
* Most dugongs are distinguished by tusks
  - display similar behavior
  - eat plants
  - feed on seaweed
  - graze on grass
* Most dugongs have eyesights
  - few natural predators
  - flat tails
  - glands
  - good eyesights
  - large mouths
  - mammary glands
  - poor eyesights
  - short tusks
  - snouts
  - inhabit tropical water
* Most dugongs live in caribbean coasts
  - cold water
  - occur along coasts
* Most dugongs reach maturity
  - sexual maturity
* Some dugongs attain maturity
  - belong to families
* Some dugongs eat algas
  - marine algas
  - sea grass
* Some dugongs have bones
  - heavy bones
  - incisors
  - intestines
  - ivory tusks
  - large intestines
  - lung capacity
  - ranges
  - wide ranges
  - live alone, others live in small herds
  - migrate to water.
  * are more closely related to elephants than to other sea creatures. Their closest aquatic relative is the manatee, a fresh water species found in America and West Africa
* also drown when trapped in fishing nets and are injured by boat propellers
  - have tusks, which are absent in all the manatee species
  - inhabit the reef, feeding on the sea grasses that grow in the shallow inshore waters
  - utilize their sense of smell
* are a semi-nomadic species
  - an ancient cousin of the modern manatee
  - dependent on seagrasses as food source
  - economically valuable while alive as a form of ecotourism
  - endangered marine mammals believed to be the origin of the mermaid myth
  - found in the shallow protected areas
  - grass-eaters
  - gray or brown in coloration and have a whale-like tail with two flukes
* are huge marine mammals that are found in warm coastal waters
  - vegetarians that survive mainly on seagrasses
  - huge, curious-looking marine mammals
  - hunted throughout their range for meat
  - important in maintaining the health of seagrass meadows
  - known to be social species
* are large grey mammals which spend their entire lives in the sea
  - underwater herbivore mammals
* are more closely related to elephants than to marine mammals such as whales and dolphins
  - particular about their diets, with certain 'fields' of sea-grass cropped
  - prey for many animals
  - primarily herbivores , eating seagrasses and algae
  - primary consumers and the only completely herbivorous marine mammals
  - referred to as 'sea cows' because their diet consists mainly of sea-grass
  - semi-nomadic species, and migrate over long distances to find suitable seagrass beds
  - slow-moving animals, so they are vulnerable to predators
* are strictly marine mammals, unlike manatees that can be found in fresh waters
  - suspected to have high auditory accuity to compensate for poor eye sight
  - the only fully plant eating marine mammal, and the only sea cow to occur in Australia
  - thus polyandrous
* are very graceful swimmers, and have excellent hearing but very poor eyesight
  - vulnerable to predators because they are very slow-moving
  - vital to the health of marine ecosystems
  - widespread hunted for their meat and oil
* can live for over seventy years
  - travel several hundred kilometers in a few days as they feed from place to place
* chew vegetation mainly with rough horny pads which cover the upper and lower palates.
* defend territory.
* display behavior
  - mate behavior
* eat a wide range of sea grasses
  - vascular sea grasses that are comparable to terrestrial grasses
* enjoy snacks.
* feed almost exclusively on seagrass, a flowering plant found in shallow water areas
  - mainly at night
* feed on a wide range of seagrasses and consume large amounts of seagrass
  - sea grasses and aquatic plants that grow in abundance in the tropical shallows
  - underwater grass
* grow up to ten feet long.
* have a down-tipped jaw which accommodates the enlarged incisors
  - forked tail, similar in shape to a whale's, while manatees' tails are paddle-shaped
  - large range of living locations from Eastern Africa to Northern Australia
  - more pronounced mouth and a trunk-like snout, whereas manatees have a shorter snout
  - round head with a large snout and small eyes
  - slow reproductive rate
  - cute, stubby bodies
  - dolphin-like tail flukes that have sharp projections
  - one pair of tusk-like teeth
  - stomachs
  - the ability to delay breeding if insufficient food sources are available
  - trunk-like snouts, while manatees have shorter snouts
  - very few natural predators
* includes brains
  - breasts
  - cell membranes
  - cells
  - chest cavities
  - chests
  - corpi
  - cytoplasm
  - faces
  - flippers
  - heads
  - nuclei
  - pedal extremities
  - piluses
  - plasma membranes
  - rib cages
  - sections
  - skulls
  - sterna
  - vacuoles
  - vertebrate feet
  - warm, coastal waters from East Africa to Australia
* look different from manatees
  - similar to a rotund dolphin or seal, although they are less streamlined
* mainly feed upon seagrasses.
* need protection.
* prefer wide shallow bays and areas protected by large inshore islands.
* rest in the deep water during the day and move towards the shoreline at night to feed.
* search for food during day and night.
* seasonally migrate to the warmer waters off Australia's coast.
* tend to live and migrate in groups.
* use different habitats for different activities
  - sound
* use their flexible upper lip to rip up entire seagrass plants
  - sense of smell and bristles to find food
  - whistles, chirps, barks, and squeak sounds to communicate
* want water.