River dolphins are not a taxon, they are an informal grouping of the infraorder Cetacea
Information
Families considered river dolphins
Parvorder Odontoceti
Family Platanistidae
Family (?†) Lipotidae
Family Iniidae
Family Pontoporiidae
New World range map
Old World range map
River dolphins are a polyphyletic group of fully aquatic mammals that reside exclusively in freshwater or brackish water. They are an informal grouping of dolphins, which itself is a paraphyletic group within the infraorder Cetacea. Extant river dolphins are placed in two superfamilies, Platanistoidea and Inioidea. They comprise the families Platanistidae (the South Asian dolphins), the recently extinct Lipotidae (Yangtze river dolphin), Iniidae (the Amazonian dolphins) and Pontoporiidae. There are five extant species of river dolphins. River dolphins, alongside other cetaceans, belong to the clade Artiodactyla, with even-toed ungulates, and their closest living relatives the hippopotamuses, from which they diverged about 40 million years ago. Specific types of dolphins can be pink.[1]
River dolphins are relatively small compared to other dolphins, having evolved to survive in warm, shallow water and strong river currents. They range in size from the 5-foot (1.5 m) long South Asian river dolphin to the 8-foot (2.4 m) and 220-pound (100 kg) Amazon river dolphin. Several species exhibit sexual dimorphism, in that the males are larger than the females. They have streamlined bodies and two limbs that are modified into flippers. River dolphins use their conical-shaped teeth and long beaks to capture fast-moving prey in murky water. They have well-developed hearing that is adapted for both air and water; they do not really rely on vision since the water they swim in is usually very muddy. Instead, they tend to rely on echolocation when hunting and navigating. These species are well-adapted to living in warm, shallow waters, and, unlike other cetaceans, have little to no blubber.
River dolphins are not very widely distributed; they are all restricted to certain rivers or deltas. This makes them extremely vulnerable to habitat destruction. River dolphins feed primarily on fish. Male river dolphins typically mate with multiple females every year, but females only mate every two to three years. Calves are typically born in the spring and summer months and females bear all the responsibility for raising them. River dolphins produce a variety of vocalizations, usually in the form of clicks and whistles.
River dolphins are rarely kept in captivity; breeding success has been poor and the animals often die within a few months of capture. As of 2020[update], there was only one river dolphin in captivity.[2]
^"Amazon River Dolphin (Pink Dolphins) | Species | WWF". World Wildlife Fund. Retrieved 2021-04-21.
^"The last river dolphin". Whale & Dolphin Conservation UK. 2020-12-22. Retrieved 2023-09-15.
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