Categories: ZOOLOGY

What are The Types of Dolphins

Dolphins are cetaceans that live in marine and inland waters. There are Different Types of Dolphins. They are very intelligent animals with an enormous capacity for communication between them. Freshwater dolphins inhabit rivers in Asia and South America.

These types of dolphins are very threatened since humans invade their habitat, which negatively affects their reproduction. River pollution, dams, and vessel traffic is an adverse factor for the existence of freshwater dolphins.

If you continue reading this article you will be able to know the different types of freshwater dolphins, their habitat and their customs.

Pink dolphin

Probably the best known among freshwater dolphins is the pink dolphin or boto. Its scientific name is Inia geoffrensis , and it is widespread throughout the Amazon and Orinoco river basins. This dolphin is the largest of the freshwater dolphins, measuring almost three meters and weighing up to 185 kg. He has 25-29 teeth in his jaws.

The pink dolphin, unlike the sailors, does not have welded cervical vertebrae. Which allows you to turn your neck in all directions. The boto is a very playful animal that does not fear the human being, approaching him to browse.

What gives it its name is the pinkish color of its skin when it reaches adulthood. These dolphins feed on fish, including piranhas. They also eat turtles and crabs. On the other hand, the predators of the pink dolphin are the bull shark when it makes river incursions going up the rivers. Alligators, anacondas, and jaguars also attack these beautiful cetaceans.

Heavy metal pollution, cellulose factories, and other human industries are a great danger to the species. It is a protected animal.

Bolivian dolphin and dolphin of the Araguaia river

– The Bolivian dolphin

Its scientific name is Inia boliviensis and is smaller than pink but it has a greater number of teeth in the hemimandible, 31-35 in total. It is threatened.

– The dolphin of the Araguaia river

This dolphin, scientifically known as Inia araguaiaensis , is a species of freshwater dolphin discovered last 2014. It is the smallest in the South American continent and has the smallest number of teeth in its hemimandible, totaling 24-28. It is also a threatened species.

The Silver River Dolphin

This dolphin commonly called Tonina or Franciscan in Argentina and Uruguay lives in the great estuary of the Río Plata. Its scientific name is Pontoporia blainvillei . This cetacean of up to about 1.80 meters can live in fresh or saltwater interchangeably. Its weight averages about 50 Kg.

The color of this dolphin is a gray-brown, lighter in the belly. Tonina is a protected cetacean because it is considered a vulnerable species.

Ganges Dolphin

On the Ganges River, Brahmaputra, Meghna, Karnaphuli, Sangu and other rivers in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Bhutan, there is a dolphin that can measure up to 2.60 meters. The females are even older.

The Gangetic dolphin, Gangetic Platanista, also known as a dolphin or shushuk gangécico has reduced and threatened populations just as their fellow South Americans. This cetacean is blind because it lacks crystalline. It moves through echolocation (waves emitted by the dolphin, bouncing off the objects and setting up a mental map of its shape and movement in the brain of the cetacean).

Indus Dolphin

The Indus dolphin, Platonist minor, is quite similar to the Ganges. It is also known as Bhutan or blind Indus dolphin. Its size does not exceed 2.5 meters. This cetacean is also blind and uses the same echolocation system of its congener of the Ganges.

The organ housed in the heads of both species that emits this ultrasound is called phonic lips. It is a threatened species.

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