What is special about the Amazon River dolphin?
The Amazon pink river dolphin has the largest bodies and brains of any freshwater dolphin. The Amazon pink river dolphin is the largest and smartest out of the five freshwater species. They also have unusually large brains, with 40 percent more brain capacity than humans!
What are the physical characteristics of the Amazon River dolphin?
It is a robust dolphin with a very long snout easily distinguishable. It has a bulbous forehead due to a pronounced melon, chubby cheeks, small eyes and a remarkably flexible neck since its vertebrae are not fused. The pectoral flippers are large and have a triangle shape.
Why are Amazon river dolphin pink?
The coloring is believed to be scar tissue from rough games or fighting over conquests. The brighter the pink, the more attractive the males are to females—at least during mating season, which takes place when the water has receded and males and females are confined to the river channel again.
Are Amazon river dolphins blind?
Adult males tend to turn the pinkest color. Mythology around the pink dolphin sometimes suggests that they are blind. This is not the case. While the Amazon pink dolphin has rather small round eyes, they do have very good eyesight.
What are the predators of the Amazon River dolphin?
Amazon River Dolphin Predators and Threats Animals that prey on the river dolphin include large snakes, jaguars and caimans. However, once the species has passed adolescence they have few natural predators.
What is an Amazon river dolphins life cycle?
Life expectancy of the Amazon river dolphin in the wild is unknown, but in captivity, the longevity of healthy individuals has been recorded at between 10 and 30 years. However, the average longevity in captive animals is only 33 months.
What are predators of Amazon river dolphins?
Amazon River Dolphin Predators and Threats Animals that prey on the river dolphin include large snakes, jaguars and caimans.
How big does the Amazon river dolphin get?
The Amazon River dolphin averages about 6.5 feet in length. They come in all shades of pink, from a dull gray-pink, to rosy colored pink, to a bright pink like that of the flamingo. This color variation is due to the clarity of the water in which the dolphin lives; the darker the water, the pinker the dolphin will be.
Are there pink dolphins in the Amazon River?
Amazon River Dolphin. Facts. The Amazon river dolphin, also known as the pink river dolphin or boto, lives only in freshwater. It is found throughout much of the Amazon and Orinoco river basins in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, and Venezuela.
What kind of teeth do Amazon river dolphins have?
Amazon River Dolphins are the only species of toothed whales to have different types of teeth in their jaw. Their back teeth are designed for crushing whereas their front teeth are pointy. The swollen part of a dolphin’s head, the equivalent of their forehead, is called a The blowhole is normally in the centre of the melon.
What is the behavior of the Amazon river dolphin?
Amazon River Dolphin Behavior. The size of the pods for these dolphins is very low. There can be only 2 members and hardly will there ever be more than 15 members. They are social, but not to the same extremes as the other dolphin species. They do form very strong bonds within their pods with the other members.