WoRMS taxon details
Dugongidae Gray, 1821
AphiaID: 196263
AphiaID: 196263
| Classification: Biota > Animalia (Kingdom) > Chordata (Phylum) > Vertebrata (Subphylum) > Gnathostomata (Superclass) > Tetrapoda (Superclass) > Mammalia (Class) > Theria (Subclass) > Sirenia (Order) |
| Status | accepted | ||||||||||
| Record status | Checked by Taxonomic Editor | ||||||||||
| Rank | Family | ||||||||||
| Parent | Sirenia | ||||||||||
| Source |
additional source: Domning, Daryl P. 1996. Bibliography and Index of the Sirenia and Desmostylia. Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology Number 80. , available online at http://www.sil.si.edu/SmithsonianContributions/Paleobiology/sc_RecordSingle.cfm?filename=SCtP-0080 [details] [full text]
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| Vernacular Names |
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| Direct child taxa [show all] | Genus Dugong Lacépède, 1799 Genus Hydrodamalis Retzius, 1794 | ||||||||||
| Environment | marine | ||||||||||
| Fossil range | recent + fossil | ||||||||||
| Links | To GenBank To ITIS | ||||||||||
| Note |
Description: There is only 1 living species in the family Dugongidae. The other recent member, Steller's sea cow (Hydrodamalis gigas) has been extinct since 1768. The dugong is tropical and subtropical, but Steller's sea cow was an inhabitant of cold temperate to subarctic waters. In members of this family, the flattened tail is expanded into flukes, similar to those of cetaceans. Other caracteristics include a rostrum that is deflected downwards, the presence of erupted tusks in males (dugongs only; Steller's sea cow had no teeth), a more streamlined body than those of manatees, and the absence of nails on flippers. <123> [details] | ||||||||||
| LSID | urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:196263 | ||||||||||
| Taxonomic Edit history |
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[Taxonomic tree] [List Species] [Distribution map] [Google] [Google scholar] [Google images] | |||||||||||
| Citation: Self-Sullivan, C. (2013). Dugongidae Gray, 1821. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=196263 on 2013-06-20 | |||||||||||
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