Irrawaddy dolphin

Irrawaddy dolphin
Irrawaddy dolphin in Cambodia
Size comparison with an average human
CITES Appendix I (CITES)[2]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Infraorder: Cetacea
Family: Delphinidae
Genus: Orcaella
Species:
O. brevirostris
Binomial name
Orcaella brevirostris
(Owen in Gray, 1866)[3]
  Irrawaddy dolphin range in 2017
Synonyms[3]
List
  • Orca (Orcaella) brevirostris Owen in Gray, 1866 (basionym)
  • Orcaella brevirostris brevirostris Ellerman & Morrison-Scott, 1951
  • Orcaella brevirostris fluminalis Ellerman & Morrison-Scott, 1951
  • Orcaella fluminalis Gray, 1871
  • Orcella brevirostris Anderson, 1871
  • Orcella fluminalis Anderson, 1871
  • Phocaena (Orca) brevirostris Owen, 1866

The Irrawaddy dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris) is a euryhaline species of oceanic dolphin found in scattered subpopulations near sea coasts and in estuaries and rivers in parts of the Bay of Bengal and Southeast Asia. It closely resembles the Australian snubfin dolphin (of the same genus, Orcaella), which was not described as a separate species until 2005. It has a slate blue to a slate gray color. Although found in much of the riverine and marine zones of South and Southeast Asia, the only concentrated lagoon populations are found in Chilika Lake in Odisha, India and Songkhla Lake in southern Thailand.[4]

  1. ^ Minton, G.; Smith, B.D.; Braulik, G.T.; Kreb, D.; Sutaria, D. & Reeves, R. (2018) [errata version of 2017 assessment]. "Orcaella brevirostris". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2017: e.T15419A123790805. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T15419A50367860.en. Retrieved 19 February 2022.
  2. ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  3. ^ a b Perrin, W. (2010). Perrin WF (ed.). "Orcaella brevirostris (Owen in Gray, 1866)". World Cetacea Database. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 2012-05-11.
  4. ^ Brian D. Smith, William Perrin (March 2007), Conservation Status of Irrawaddy dolphins (Orcaella Brevirostris) (PDF), CMS