The Amazon River dolphin, or Boto (Inia geoffrensis), sometimes called the pink dolphin, is a fresh water dolphin found throughout the Amazon River and it's principle tributaries, in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela.
More...The Amazon River dolphin, or Boto (Inia geoffrensis), sometimes called the pink dolphin, is a fresh water dolphin found throughout the Amazon River and it's principle tributaries, in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. Inia is the only genus in the family Iniidae, and there are currently two recognized subspecies (I. g. boliviensis, I. g. geoffrensis). I. geoffrensis is currently classified as Endangered by the IUCN (January 2023), due to highly fragmented and declining populations. This sample was obtained from the last remaining captive Amazon River Dolphin in Europe, at the Duisburg Zoo in Duisburg Germany, and named "Orinoco" for the region of its origin. Orinoco was also referred to as "Baby" at the Duisburg Zoo, because he was captured with his mother and three other individuals in 1975, and transferred to the Duisburg Zoo, where he lived until his death in December, 2020. Samples were collected by Marine Mammal Curator Dr. Kerstin Ternes, DVM, and the sequencing of the genome coordinated by Phil Morin at NOAA and Michael Hiller at the LOEWE Centre for Translational Biodiversity Genomics, Senckenberg Research Institute, in collaboration with the Cetacean Genomes Project (CGP).
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