Dugong

a marine animal belonging to the sea cows. It is several feet in length. It is related closely to the manatee of the Florida coast. It lives on seaweed in the border waters of Australia, the Indian Ocean, and the Red Sea. The dugong has a ruddy head, almost human in outline. The female swims with one flipper, clasping the young to the breast with the other. When she dives she shows a fish-like tail. It is supposed that the mermaid myth first told by Arab seamen arose from seeing this creature. The dugong is almost extinct. See Manatee; Mermaid