NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Amazon River Dolphin
Inia geoffrensis (Blainville, 1817)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Amazon river dolphin (Inia geoffrensis), also known as the boto, bufeo or pink river dolphin, is a species of toothed whale endemic to South America and is classified in the family Iniidae. Three subspecies are currently recognized: I. g. geoffrensis (Amazon river dolphin), I. g. boliviensis (Bolivian river dolphin) and I. g. humboldtiana (Orinoco river dolphin). The position of the Araguaian river dolphin (I. araguaiaensis) within the clade is still unclear. The three subspecies are distributed in the Amazon basin, the upper Madeira River in Bolivia, and the Orinoco basin, respectively. The Amazon river dolphin is the largest species of river dolphin, with many adult males reaching 185 kilograms (408 lb) in weight, and 2.5 metres (8.2 ft) in length. Adults acquire a pink color, more prominent in males, giving it its nickname "pink river dolphin". Sexual dimorphism is very evident, with males measuring 16% longer and weighing 55% more than females. Like other toothed whales, they have a melon, an organ that is used for bio sonar.
Wikipedia contributors, Amazon river dolphin; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:34:00.418110+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Inia geoffrensis (Blainville, 1817)
- Name authority
- (Blainville, 1817)
- Common name
- Amazon River Dolphin
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Cetacea
- Family
- Iniidae
- Genus
- Inia
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classMammalia Linnaeus, 1758
- subclassTheria Parker & Haswell, 1897
- infraclassEutheria Gill, 1872
- orderCetacea Brisson, 1762
- suborderOdontoceti Flower, 1867
- familyIniidae Gray, 1846
- genusInia d'Orbigny, 1834
- speciesInia geoffrensis (Blainville, 1817)
Close classified relatives
No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Delphinus geoffrensis Blainville, 1817 Blainville, 1817 | synonym |
| Inia araguaiaensis Hrbek, Farias, Dutra & da Silva in Hrbek, da Silva, Dutra, Gravena, Martin & Farias, 2014 Hrbek, Farias, Dutra & da Silva in Hrbek, da Silva, Dutra, Gravena, Martin & Farias, 2014 | synonym |
| Inia geoffrensis humboldtiana Pilleri & Gihr, 1978 Pilleri & Gihr, 1978 | synonym |
| Delphinus frontatus G. Cuvier, 1823 G. Cuvier, 1823 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=180407 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3PQ9B. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.