Marine Mammals Information Database :Illustrated Guide of Marine Mammals

Irrawaddy dolphin

Scientific Name : Orcaella brevirostris / Japanese Name : kawa-gondou



Irrawaddy dolphin

Details

Order Cetartiodactyla
Suborder Odontoceti
Family Delphinidae
Genus Orcaella
Species brevirostris
Subspecies -
Subtype -
CITES Appendix I IUCN RedData Status Vulnerable
Baleen plates or tooth-Upper jaw 8-19 (average15) Baleen plates or tooth-Lower jaw 11-18 (average13-14)
At birth At weaning Adult Adult male Adult female
Body length about 1m - 1.73-2.75m - -
Body weight 10-12kg - 115-130kg - -
Feature and Habit
A blunt head with no beak suggests some similarity with the finless porpoise and the white whale, but they have a dorsal fin around the center, although it is fairly small. The body color is a little brownish gray, with the ventral side somewhat lighter. They can spit water with a flexible mouth. Their cervical vertebrae are not fused, an exceptional case among delphinid dolphins, and their neck is adjustable. Marine type are known from; India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia, and the Philippines. They are also known in large rivers such as Ayeyarwady and Mekong rivers. They are known to cooperate with fishers in netting a shoal in the Ayeyarwady river.
Description
Type specimen was reported to be collected in Vizagapatam, which is very western end of the whole distributary area.
Stranding Record(s) in Japan
No records exist.
Reference:
Map

Marine Mammals Skull Database

A click on the skull thumb nail will bring you to detailed images.


Sex - Reproductive Condition -
Body length - Locality -
Museum No. - Other No. -

▲Back to top