dugong

plural dugongs

1. A plant-eating sirenian of the species Dugong dugon, found in tropical regions and having a fluked tail.

   “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

   1 more example

   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

2. Any animal of the family Dugongidae, of which the monotypic genus Dugong is the only extant kind.

   Synonyms: dugongid