The dugong — a mammal related to the manatee — has become extinct in China, researchers have said.
The dugong is similar to the American manatee and can grow to about 3.4 metres in length.
Its conservation status is currently listed as vulnerable.
Researchers from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and the Chinese Academy of Science conducted the study by reviewing all historical data on where dugongs had previously been found in China, reported BBC.
Scientists found that there had been no verified sightings of dugongs since 2000.
They also interviewed 788 community members living in those coastal regions identified, to determine when local people had last seen a dugong.
Residents said that on average that they had not seen the mammal for 23 years.
Only three people had seen one in the past five years.
“The likely disappearance of the dugong in China is a devastating loss,” professor Samuel Turvey from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), who co-authored the research study, was quoted as saying.
Heidi Ma, postdoctoral researcher at ZSL, told the BBC that functionally extinct status of the mammal implies that “it is no longer viable... to sustain itself”.
According to scientists the dugong habitat close to shore in China left the population vulnerable to hunting in the 20th century.
The animal was sought after for its skin, bones and meat.
It was classified as a grade-one national key protected animal by the Chinese State Council in 1988 after its population suffered a decline.
Scientists also believe that the continuing destruction of its habitat, including a lack of seagrass beds for feed, has caused a “rapid population collapse”.
According to Mr Turvey, the animal’s extinction in China should raise alarms for its population in other regions including Australia and East Africa.
He said that is “a sobering reminder that extinctions can occur before effective conservation actions are developed”.
