Platanistidae

Cetacean Family

  •  Platanistidae (River Dolphins)
                                                           

Families and Species within this grouping

  • Platanistidae,   Ganges River Dolphin (Platanista gangetica)
  • Indus River Dolphin (Platanista minor)
  • Iniidae, Boto (Inia geoffrensis)
  • Lipotidae, Baiji (Lipotes vexillifer), recently extinct
  • Pontoporiidae, Franciscana (Pontoporia blainvillei)
     

Defining Characteristics

  • Have long slender beak, above which rises a sharply differentiated, bulging forehead.
  • Their eyes are small
  • They have distinct necks; flippers are broad and either rounded or sharply curved.
  • Colors tend to be muted grays, pinks, and browns usually darker above and paler below.
  • 3-9 feet (0.9 – 2.8m) in length. The adult males get to the size of 8.2 feet (2.5 m) females are rarely found to be longer than 7 feet (2.15 m)
  • Feed by using echolocation; feed on fish and invertebrates.
  • They have small pointed teeth
  • The river dolphins have no markings.
The Yangtze River Dolphin (Baiji), Lipotes vexillifer, declared extinct in 2006.
 

Interesting facts

  •  Little known is about their social behavior
  • They often live in water less than 7 feet (2 m).
  • They communicate by sound, whistle, by breaching, body posturing and jaw popping.
  • Their length of pregnancy is 8-11 months
  • The interval between birth is 1 year
     

Habitat range

  • They live in freshwater rivers. Prefer living in water 10-30 feet (3.1-9.1 m) deep, but are able to live in water as shallow as 3 feet (0.9 m).
     

Threats to survival

  • Pollution
  •  Hunting
  •  Fishing
  •  Dam construction
     

Life expectancy

  • Can be calculated from the Annual Survival Rate, life expectancy differs per region.
River Dolphin
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Cited Resources

 
Researched and written by Erica Andrade, NBWM Apprentice, March 2012