Inia geoffrensis, Photo: Michael Lahanas Cladus: Eukaryota Name Inia geoffrensis Blainville, 1817 References * Inia geoffrensis on Mammal Species of the World. Vernacular names ----------- The Amazon river dolphin, alternately Bufeo, Bufeo Colorado, Boto, Boto Cor de Rosa, Boutu, Nay, Tonina, or Pink River Dolphin[2] (Inia geoffrensis), is a freshwater river dolphin endemic to the Orinoco, Amazon and Araguaia/Tocantins River systems of Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela. The largest of the river dolphins, this species is not to be confused with the Tucuxi (Sotalia fluviatilis), whose range overlaps that of the Amazon River Dolphin but is not a true river dolphin. Because they are unfused, the neck vertebrae of the Amazon river dolphin are able to turn 180 degrees. The pink dolphin lives in the freshwater of the Amazon River. This species looks like the grey dolphin, but individuals are bigger, and instead of a dorsal fin they have a hump on their back. Their tails are also bigger. The pink dolphin has been listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of the Nature due to pollution, over fishing, excessive boat trafficking and habitat loss. The brain of the river dolphin is 40% larger than a human brain. The IUCN lists various other names to describe this species including Amazon Dolphin, Boto Vermelho, Boto Cor-de-Rosa, Bouto, Inia, Pink Dolphin, Wee Quacker, Pink Freshwater Dolphin, Pink Porpoise, Tonina and Encantado. The species was described by Henri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville in 1817. Rice's 1998 classification[3] lists a single species, Inia geoffrensis, in the genus Inia, with three recognized subspecies. Some older classifications as well as some recent publications[4] listed the boliviensis population as a separate species; however, a great majority of the scientific community including the IUCN[1] consider boliviensis population to be a subspecies of Inia geoffrensis. The three currently recognized subspecies are: * I. g. geoffrensis - Amazon and Araguaia/Tocantins basin population (excluding Madeira River drainage area, upstream of the Teotonio Rapids in Rondonia)
In a traditional Amazon River folklore, at night an Amazon river dolphin becomes a handsome young man who seduces girls,[5] impregnates them, then returns to the river in the morning to become an Amazon river dolphin again. This dolphin shapeshifter is called an encantado. It has been suggested that the myth arose partly because dolphin genitalia bear a resemblance to those of humans.[6] In the area, there are also tales that it is bad luck to kill an Amazon river dolphin. Legend also states that if a person makes eye contact with an Amazon river dolphin, that person will have nightmares for the rest of his/her life. Local legends also state that the dolphin is the guardian of the Amazonian manatee and that should one wish to find an Amazonian manatee one must first make peace with the Amazon river dolphin. Food and diet The Amazon river dolphin has about 100 peg-like front teeth for catching prey and it mainly eats crustaceans, crabs, small turtles, catfish, piranhas, and other fish. The dolphins have been seen swimming through the trees during high season. Size Female Amazon river dolphins are 8.25 to 9.75 feet long (2.5 to 3 meters), and weigh as much as a full grown human man, about 200 pounds. Males are normally larger than females. References 1. ^ a b Reeves, R.R., Jefferson, T.A., Karczmarski, L., Laidre, K., O’Corry-Crowe, G., Rojas-Bracho, L., Secchi, E.R., Slooten, E., Smith, B.D., Wang, J.Y. & Zhou, K. (2008). Inia geoffrensis. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 06 March 2009. Database entry includes a lengthy justification of why this species is data-deficient. Source: Wikispecies, Wikipedia: All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License |
|