Platanistidae
Cetacean Families
- Platanistidae
- Iniidae
- Lipotidae
- Pontoporiidae
Species within these four families
- Ganges River Dolphin (Platanista gangetica)
- Indus River Dolphin (Platanista minor)
- Boto (Inia geoffrensis)
- Baiji (Lipotes vexillifer), possibly extinct
- 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 births 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
- Construction of dams
Life expectancy
- Can be calculated from the Annual Survival Rate, life expectancy differs per region.
River Dolphin
Cited Resources
- Society for Marine Mammalogy, www.marinemammalscience.org
- www.worldwidewhale.com
- www.conservenature.org
- Carwardine, Mark “Whales Dolphins and Porpoises. London: Dorling Kindersley Publishing, Inc., 1995, Print.
Researched and written by Erica Andrade, NBWM Apprentice, March 2012
Last modified: August 18, 2016
