THE MERMAID OF TO-DAY 163 



Half hippopotamus, half seal, yet in no way related to 

 either, something between a pachyderm and cetacean, the 

 dugong is a herbivorous marine mammal, commonly known 

 as "the sea cow," because of its resemblance in some 

 particulars to that useful domesticated animal. It grazes 

 on marine grass {Posidonia australis), parts of the flesh 

 very closely resemble beef, and post-mortem examina- 

 tion 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. 



To further detail the paradoxes of the dugong, it may 

 be said that some of the teeth resemble those of an 

 elephant ; that the males have ivorj/ tusks and of ivory 

 their bones are made ; that parts of the flesh may hardly 

 be distinguished from veal and other parts from fine young 

 pork. The freshly flayed hide is fully half an inch 

 thick and when cured and dried resembles horn in 

 consistency. 



Reddish grey, sometimes almost olive green in colour, with 



