The species have been protected since 1988 in China.
A new study has claimed that the Dugong, a delicate cetacean, has been officially declared extinct in China. It has been published in a journal named Royal Society Open Science, in which the researchers said they found strong evidences about the mammal that they have been extinct in the country. The study has been conducted by the Zoological society of London.
Scientists conducted interviews in fishing communities across the country and discovered about the extinction of this gentle crustacean. They also used the data from previous years to compare the presence of dugongs in the country in the past, according to a report in Newsweek.
The Dugong is also known as the "sea cows." Because of their seagrass diet, they can be found in the Indian and western Pacific Oceans' coastal waters. The species is listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The species have been protected since 1988 in China where they have lived for hundreds of years. According to the study, scientists also said they would "welcome any possible future evidence that dugongs might survive in China". The study's authors, however, stated that it provides "significant evidence of the probable regional loss of a charismatic marine megafaunal species".
There was no evidence of dugongs in Chinese waters, according to surveys carried out for the study. Before declaring them extinct, scientists considered the possibility that they migrated north along the coast due to human activities or climate change. but the researchers concluded that this was unlikely due to a lack of seagrass beds north of the dugongs' usual habitat, said Newsweek.
The study also states that "no other dugong sightings or strandings have been reported" from that area. The study's authors also claim for the species' status to be upgraded to critically endangered.
According to Samuel Turvey, professor at ZSL's Institute of Zoology and co-author of the study, their extinction in China could have a "major negative impact on the health of seagrass systems".