Du-gŏng', n.

n. [Written also duyong.] [Malayan dāyŏng, Javan. duyung.] [Zoöl.] A swimming mammal having the aquatic habits of the cetaceans, or whales, but herbivorous, and referred to a separate group, which includes also the Manatus, or sea-cow.

It is the Halicare Australis of the Malayan and Australian seas. Unlike the Manatus, the anterior limbs are without nails, and its tail has the crescent shape of that of the whales. It is one of the species on which the fable of the mermaid was founded.