Dolphins Of The Amazon River: How Sotalia Fluviatilis And Inia Geoffrensis Coexi

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Dolphins Of The Amazon River: How Sotalia Fluviatilis And Inia Geoffrensis Coexist In Their Habitat

Kristi Simpson
Biosc 491-14/Tropical Biology
April, 1999
Dr. E. Pivorun
Dolphins of the Amazon River: How Sotalia fluviatilis and Inia geoffrensis coexist in their habitat
The Amazon River and its lush, beautiful forest are surely among the most amazing ecosystems in the world. The ever-present, primordial cacophony that echoed in my ears as I stood breathlessly watching saddle-backed tamarins (Saguinus fuscicollis) leap from tree to tree is what I will forever crave to hear again. As a biology student, I have always read about the “great biodiversity” of the neotropics, as the importance of habitat conservation and protection is beaten into my brain at every turn. Of course, as a naturalist, I agree with the prevailing opinion of today that our world is in dire need of help. However, I couldn’t appreciate the true beauty and magic of the tropical Amazon until I was literally swimming in the middle of it, breathing in the wet, fragrant air and seeing the misting, puffing backs of the pink river dolphins (Inia geoffrensis) circling around me.
As a lover of all cetaceans, I was very interested in learning more about the dolphins of the Amazon River, but it was a surprise to find that the pink river dolphins (also called botos) are not the only species of cetacean in their habitat. Tucuxis (Sotalia fluviatilis) are smaller, sleeker inhabitants that share the waters with the botos, although they are also found in coastal waters of the South American Atlantic Ocean. The tucuxi looks like a miniature bottlenose dolphin, with its short beak and sleek design. It is important to make note that tucuxis are considered to be in two forms: the marine form and the freshwater form (Borobia et al. 1026). Borobia hypothesizes that the two forms, which vary for the most part in size, may be due to temperature differences, so that the marine form, as it inhabits colder seasonal temperatures than its riverine counterpart, is the larger of the two (1035).
The tucuxi in any form, however, is much smaller than the boto, which, in fact, looks anything but graceful with its chubby body, small eyes, elongated beak, and bulbous forehead or “melon.” The boto also has a flexible neck due to unfused neck vertebrae (Morell 29), adding to its seemingly awkward design; it is also the world’s largest freshwater dolphin, as the males reach lengths of three meters and weights of 16o kilogra...

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