It grazes on marine
grass (POSIDONIA AUSTRALIS), parts of the flesh very closely resemble
beef, and post-mortem examination reveals internal structure similar in
most details to those of its namesake. But, unlike the cow, the dugong
has two pectoral mammae instead of an abdominal udder, and like the
whale is unable to turn its head, the vertebrae of the neck being, if
not fused into one mass, at least compressed into a small space.
In form it resembles a seal, the body tapering from the middle to the
fish-like, bi-lobed tail. As with the whale, the flippers or arms do not
contribute any considerable means of locomotion, but are used, in the
case of the female at least, for grasping the young. When the mother is
nursing her child, holding it to her breasts, she is careful as she
rises to breathe, that it, too, may obtain a gulp of fresh air, and the
two heads emerging together present a strangely human aspect. Traces of
elementary hind legs are to be found in some small bones lying loosely
in the flesh. The skull is singularly formed, the upper jaw being bent
over the lower. The huge pendulous, rubber-like under lip, so studded
with coarse, sharp bristles as to be known as the brush, seems a
development of the under lip of the horse, and is a perfect implement
for the gathering of slimy grass.
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