Amazon River

Dolphin
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/wildfacts/factfiles/62.shtml
Amazon river dolphin, boto, bouto, pink river dolphin
Inia geoffrensis
The largest of the worlds five freshwater dolphin species. It relies on
echolocation to find prey in the muddy rivers that it inhabits.

Subspecies
None.

Life span
Approximately 30 years.

Statistics
Body length 1.8-2.5m, Weight: 85-150kg.

Physical description
Amazon river dolphins are sometimes a pale blue colour, sometimes pink
and frequently albino. They have a hump and ridge along their back rather
than a dorsal fin. Amazon river dolphins have a long beak.

Distribution
Amazon river dolphins inhabit the Amazon and Orinoco river systems.

Habitat
They are most often found in brown, slow-moving waters, but during the
flood season they enter flooded grasslands and forests.

Diet
They feed on fish and crustaceans.

Behaviour
These dolphins live singly or in pairs, but groups of up to 30 gather to feed.
They use their triangular pectoral fins to swim slowly over the river bed
searching for crabs, fish and turtles with their echolocation. There are
reports that Amazon river dolphins can stun prey with bursts of sound from
the "melon" organ in their bulging forehead.

Reproduction
Amazon river dolphins breed in late October to early November. Young are
born between May and July when the water is at its highest and much of
the lowland forest is flooded.

Conservation status
Amazon river dolphins are classified as Vulnerable by the 2000 IUCN Red
List.

Notes
Little is known about river dolphins.

http://www.acsonline.org/factpack/Boto.htm

AMERICAN CETACEAN SOCIETY FACT SHEET

BOTO (AMAZON RIVER DOLPHIN)
Inia geoffrensis
CLASS:
ORDER:
SUBORDER:
FAMILY:
GENUS:
SPECIES:

Mammalia
Cetacea
Odontoceti
Iniidae
Inia
geoffrensis

The Amazon River Dolphin, also called the boutu, boto, or bufeo, is the largest of the
freshwater dolphins, and like all freshwater dolphins it is endangered because of hunting,
human pressures, and degradation of habitat. Its most amazing characteristic is its color,
which ranges -- depending on its age -- from soft, rosy pink to a vivid, almost shocking pink.
The Portuguese name for this species in Brazil is "boutu vermelho" red dolphin.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION:

The Amazon River dolphin, or boutu,

is a fresh water dolphin of medium size, with a heavy, thickset body. It
has a prominent domed forehead ending in a long beak which contains 24
to 34 conical and molar-type teeth on each side of the jaws. The conical
teeth are in the forward part of its mouth and are used for holding and
grasping prey which is then worked to the rear of the mouth to be
thoroughly crushed by the molars before being swallowed. Another
unique feature of this dolphin is the presence of stiff hairs on the upper
and lower portions of the beak. It is thought these hairs provide a "sense
of touch" while the animal forages in the mud for food. Its mouth is wide
and straight and curves upward at the corners. The neck vertebrae are
not fused together and this dolphin is able to bend its neck to an angle of
90 degrees to its body, downward or sideways. Though its eyes are small
its eyesight is good. The ear opening is large and the Amazon River
dolphin is known to have a well developed sense of hearing.

COLOR:

Its color is distinctive and varies considerably according to

age. When it is young, the Amazon River dolphin is dark gray on the
upper portion of its body. As it matures the gray is replaced by pink on
the ventral or lower portion of the body, which spreads up the sides to

the back. The color becomes lighter as the dolphin matures, and ends up
almost white, with tinges of bluish-gray.

surface characteristics

FINS AND FLUKE:

Instead of a dorsal fin, the boutu has a ridge on

its back which rises to a modified hump at about the mid section of its
body. Its flippers are large in proportion to its body and are used for
steering. Its flukes are large and broad and divided by a median notch.
Its unusually large flippers and flukes are probably an adaptation for
maneuvering in shallow waters.

LENGTH AND WEIGHT:

Length averages about 6 feet for males

(2.5 m) with a maximum of 9 feet (2.7 m); females average 6 feet (1.8
m) with a maximum of 8 feet (2.4 m). Weight is up to 350 pounds (160
kg).

FEEDING:

Amazon River dolphins feed on Amazon catfish and other

heavily scaled fish, including piranhas, as well as bottom-dwelling
crustaceans.

MATING AND BREEDING:

The male reaches sexual maturity at

about 7 feet (2 m) and the female at about 5.5 feet (1.7 m). Most calves
are born between July and September after a gestation period of 9 to 12
months; they are about 32 inches long at birth (80 cm) and weigh about
15 pounds.

range map

DISTRIBUTION AND MIGRATION:

The boutu is found

everywhere in northern and central South America from the Amazon
River delta to the Andes. It is plentiful in the Amazon and its tributaries
and lakes as well as the Orinoco River and its tributaries in Venezuela. It
also inhabits rivers in Columbia, Ecuador, northern Peru, Brazil, and
Bolivia. Depending on where it is found, differences in color, number of
teeth, size, and other physical characteristics have been reported in wellseparated populations. Because of these differences some scientists think
boutus should be separated into different species and subspecies.

NATURAL HISTORY:

The boutu is usually seen alone or in pairs. It

is curious and is not shy about approaching boats. The sounds it makes
are clearly audible and are used for echolocating prey. While
echolocating, the boutu uses a scanning technique, moving its head from
side to side a maneuver made possible by the flexibility of its neck.

STATUS:

In some parts of its range the boutu has figured

prominently in the folklore of the South American Indians, who believed
killing them would bring bad luck and misfortune. These taboos provided
the animal with a measure of protection until new settlers began to arrive
and live along the river banks. Since then large numbers of dolphins have
been killed and their skins used for leather; their fat for cooking. In
addition, several hundred have been captured live for display in
aquariums. The U.S. alone took nearly 100 of them; less than 20 were
able to adapt to captivity.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Balcomb, Kenneth, and Stanley Minasian, The World's Whales.
Illustrated by Larry Foster. New York: Smithsonian Books, W. W.
Norton, 1983

 Ellis, Richard, Dolphins and Porpoises. New York: Alfred A. Knopf,

1984.
Leatherwood, S.R., R. Reeves, W. Perrin, and W. Evans. Whales,
Dolphins and Porpoises of the Eastern North Pacific and Adjacent
Arctic Waters. U.S. Dept. of Commerce: NOAA Technical Report,
NMFS Circular 444, July 1982
Leatherwood, S., and R. Reeves. Whales and Dolphins. San
Francisco: Sierra Club Books, 1983.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
Illustrations courtesy Uko Gorter, copyright 2002, 2006 all rights
reserved.

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