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Inia
An Amazon river dolphin at the Duisburg Zoo.
Size compared to an average human
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Artiodactyla
Infraorder:	Cetacea
Family:	Iniidae
Genus:	Inia d'Orbigny, 1834
Type species
Inia boliviensis d'Orbigny, 1834
Species
See text
Inia spp. ranges. I. araguaiaensis, I. geoffrensis and I. boliviensis are blue, light green and purple, respectively. I. humboldtiana is grouped with geoffrensis.

Inia is a genus of river dolphins from South America, containing one to four species.

Taxonomy

The genus was described by Alcide d'Orbigny in 1834 when Delphinus geoffrensis, described by Henri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville in 1817, was recognized to be a unique taxon. D'Orbigny also described Inia boliviensis as type species of the genus. A 1998 classification listed a single species, Inia geoffrensis, in the genus Inia, with three recognized subspecies. Most of the scientific community accepted this single species classification, as does the IUCN. As of 2016 the Committee on Taxonomy of the Society for Marine Mammalogy considers the genus Inia to contain one species with only two subspecies: the Bolivian (I. g. boliviensis) and the Amazon (I. g. geoffrensis) subspecies. In 2014, the population in the Araguaia-Tocantins basin was proposed to define an additional species, Inia araguaiaensis, but this remains debated. The American Society of Mammalogists recognizes the highest number of species at four, although this is only tentative, pending further studies which could either confirm or deny the classification.

American Society of Mammalogists Classification

Genus Inia

• Species Inia araguaiaensis – Araguaian river dolphin
• Species Inia boliviensis – Bolivian river dolphin
• Species Inia geoffrensis – Amazon river dolphin
• Species Inia humboldtiana – Orinoco river dolphin

IUCN Classification

Genus Inia

• Species Inia geoffrensis – Amazon river dolphin
  • Amazon Subspecies I. g. geoffrensis
  • Bolivian Subspecies I. g. boliviensis
  • Orinoco Subspecies I. g. humboldtiana

Society For Marine Mammalogy Classification

• Genus Inia
  • Species Inia geoffrensis – Amazon river dolphin
    • Amazon Subspecies I. g. geoffrensis
    • Bolivian Subspecies I. g. boliviensis

References

1. Wilson, D. E.; Reeder, D. M., eds. (2005). Mammal Species of the World: A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed.). Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-8221-0. OCLC 62265494.
2. Robineau, Daniel; Buffrénil, Vivian, de (2003). "Early descriptions of whales: D'Orbigny, A. 1834. Note on a new cetacean genus, from the rivers of the central part of South America. [Notice sur un nouveau genre de cétacé, des rivières du centre de l'Amèrique méridionale. Nouvelles annales du Muséum d'histoire naturelle, 3:28–36]". Journal of Cetacean Research and Management. 5 (3): 209–212. doi:10.47536/jcrm.v5i3.799.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
3. Rice, D. W. (1998). Marine mammals of the world: systematics and distribution. Society of Marine Mammalogy Special Publication Number 4. p. 231.
4. da Silva, V.; Trujillo, F.; Martin, A.; Zerbini, A.N.; Crespo, E.; Aliaga-Rossel, E. & Reeves, R. (2018). "Inia geoffrensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T10831A50358152. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-2.RLTS.T10831A50358152.en.
5. "List of Marine Mammal Species and Subspecies - Society for Marine Mammalogy". www.marinemammalscience.org. 13 November 2016. Retrieved 2017-09-01.
6. Hrbek, Tomas; Da Silva, Vera Maria Ferreira; Dutra, Nicole; Gravena, Waleska; Martin, Anthony R.; Farias, Izeni Pires (2014-01-22). Turvey, Samuel T. (ed.). "A New Species of River Dolphin from Brazil or: How Little Do We Know Our Biodiversity". PLOS ONE. 9 (1): e83623. Bibcode:2014PLoSO...983623H. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0083623. PMC 3898917. PMID 24465386.
7. "Inia". ASM Mammal Diversity Database. American Society of Mammalogists. Retrieved 2021-09-05.

General references

• Montgomery, Sy (15 February 2009). Journey of the Pink Dolphins: An Amazon Quest. Chelsea Green Publishing. ISBN 9 78-1-60358-175-2. OCLC 42295841.
• Juliet Clutton-Brock (2000). Mammals, 381 pages.

• Inia
• Iniidae
• Cetacean genera
• Mammals of South America
• Mammals described in 1834
• Taxa named by Alcide d'Orbigny