What is the scientific name of the Amazon river dolphin?

The scientific name of the Amazon river dolphin is Inia geoffrensis. Also called the boto, bufeo, or pink river dolphin, it is a toothed whale native to freshwater habitats in the Amazon and Orinoco basins of South America.

The genus name Inia identifies this South American river-dolphin lineage, while geoffrensis is the species name. French naturalist Henri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville formally described the species in 1817. Older classifications grouped river dolphins together, but genetic and anatomical research shows that South American river dolphins are distinct from the Ganges river dolphin and the franciscana.

Amazon river dolphins are highly adapted to flooded forests. Their unfused neck vertebrae let them turn their heads sharply, and their large flippers help them maneuver among submerged trees. Adults may become pinker with age, especially males, which explains the nickname “pink river dolphin.”

Taxonomists still debate whether some populations deserve separate species status, including Bolivian and Araguaian river dolphins. That debate does not change the standard scientific name accepted for the Amazon river dolphin itself.