Pour one out for the dugong today — the bulbous yet endearing undersea mammalian has hit a worrisome raw bench mark of metal money declination . Scientists have declare the beast “ functionally extinct ” in part of the South China Sea , ina studypublished in the journal Royal Society Open Science . hunt , the fishing manufacture , aquaculture , and other human activity that ’s degraded the seagrass habitat is to blame , according to the researchers .
dugong are the last surviving coinage in their scientific family ; their closest living congeneric are Trichechus manatus . They are think to havebeen the inspirationfor some of the Pacific ’s mermaid mythology . ( Though the Pokémon Dewgong was probably named after the real - existence dugong , the revivify critter seems to have more in common with seal . ) Dugongs also the world ’s only known maritime mammal to be solely vegetarian , as even Trichechus manatus have been recorded occasionally eating fish . The gentle seagrass grazers live and breed in the tropical and sub - tropical coastal watersof multiple region , from East Africa and the Middle East into the South Pacific .
Now though , these singular “ ocean oxen ” seem to be swimming around in one less region , agree to the study authors . By designating Dugong dugon functionally extinct there , the scientist are saying the species is no longer able-bodied to reproduce and keep a foresighted - full term population in the field .
Dugongs look similar to their close cousins, manatees, but can be easily distinguished by the shapes of their snouts and tails.Photo:Verde Massimo(Shutterstock)
The enquiry squad — composed of scientists from the Chinese Academy of Science , England ’s Zoological Society of London , and Aristotle University in Greece — reported that records of dugongs in the water system along the southernmost coast of China have declined sharply over the past 50 age . Notably , they wrote , there are no document records of dugong in the area after 2008 , and there are no “ verified domain observations ” of the mammal after 2000 . It ’s “ the first report usable extinction of a large craniate in Chinese marine waters , ” they add .
To amount to this dismal ending , the survey authors review the historical record . They also worked with a squad of volunteers and interviewed 788 local fishermen . Only 5 % of those surveyed reported ever having catch a dugong in the wild , and only three respond that they ’d seen one in the past five class , though those report sighting could n’t be affirm . The scientists also noted that two of those three recent sighting take place in an area lacking the seagrass beds necessary to support dugongs and that the person may have been drifters from the Filipino population .
“ We acknowledge the theory that a few hold out dugongs in Chinese coastal waters might have been undetected by answerer , ” wrote the researcher . “ However , our comprehensive assessment suggests that even if some individual Dugong dugon still remain in Chinese water , the spectacular population fall experience by the species in recent decades is extremely unbelievable to be kibosh or turn back under current condition . ”
A dugong near EgyptPhoto:Julien Willem/Wikimedia Commons
Habitat decline , seagrass loss , and hunt are probable to blame for the metal money ’ disappearance , concord to the scientists . Previous researchhas note that sportfishing and Pisces farms have degraded critical seagrass ecosystems in the northerly South China Sea . And globally , an estimated 7 % of seagrass home ground is being miss every yr , according toa 2020 UN report .
And the research worker report that , between 1958 and 1976 , 257 dugongs were kill in the northern South China Sea for food . phonograph recording cited by the scientist also indicated the animals are often caught and killed as sportfishing industry bycatch .
Dugongs are listed as globally vulnerable to extinction by the International Union for Conservation of Nature ( IUCN ) , and are they legally protect in many countries . person can populate for more than 70 long time , but the species cover slowly , making their convalescence and protection extra challenging .
Though dugongs live on in other position , the disappearance of this unique species from one area is a sobering reminder of how easily and mutely extermination can progress . “ The message is alarming , ” wrote the subject field scientists . It ’s a reminder that “ effective universe and habitat management are critically require within dugong habitats elsewhere . ”
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