Inia

Genus of dolphins

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.^[1] A 1998 classification listed a single species, Inia geoffrensis, in the genus Inia, with three recognized subspecies.^[2] Most of the scientific community accepted this single species classification, as does the IUCN.^[3] 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.^[4] In 2014, the population in the Araguaia-Tocantins basin was proposed to define an additional species, Inia araguaiaensis,^[5] 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.^[6]

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

^ 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)
^ Rice, D. W. (1998). Marine mammals of the world: systematics and distribution. Society of Marine Mammalogy Special Publication Number 4. p. 231.
^ 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.
^ "List of Marine Mammal Species and Subspecies - Society for Marine Mammalogy". www.marinemammalscience.org. 13 November 2016. Retrieved 2017-09-01.
^ 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.
^ "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.

Extant Cetacea species

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Class Mammalia
Infraclass Eutheria
Superorder Laurasiatheria
Order Artiodactyla
Suborder Whippomorpha

Parvorder Mysticeti (Baleen whales)

Balaenidae

Balaena	Bowhead whale (B. mysticetus)
Eubalaena (Right whales)	Southern right whale (E. australis) North Atlantic right whale (E. glacialis) North Pacific right whale (E. japonica)

Balaenopteridae
(Rorquals)

Balaenoptera	Common minke whale (B. acutorostrata) Antarctic minke whale (B. bonaerensis) Sei whale (B. borealis) Bryde's whale (B. brydei) Pygmy Bryde's whale (B. edeni) Blue whale (B. musculus) Omura's whale (B. omurai) Fin whale (B. physalus) Rice's whale (B. ricei)
Eschrichtius	Gray whale (E. robustus)
Megaptera	Humpback whale (M. novaeangliae)

Cetotheriidae

Caperea	Pygmy right whale (C. marginata)

Parvorder Odontoceti (Toothed whales)

Delphinidae
(Oceanic dolphins)

Cephalorhynchus	Commerson's dolphin (C. commersonii) Chilean dolphin (C. eutropia) Heaviside's dolphin (C. heavisidii) Hector's dolphin (C. hectori)
Delphinus	Common dolphin (D. delphis)
Feresa	Pygmy killer whale (F. attenuata)
Globicephala (Pilot whales)	Short-finned pilot whale (G. macrorhynchus) Long-finned pilot whale (G. melas)
Grampus	Risso's dolphin (G. griseus)
Lagenodelphis	Fraser's dolphin (L. hosei)
Lagenorhynchus	White-beaked dolphin (L. albirostris) Atlantic white-sided dolphin (L. acutus) Peale's dolphin (L. australis) Hourglass dolphin (L. cruciger) Pacific white-sided dolphin (L. obliquidens) Dusky dolphin (L. obscurus)
Lissodelphis (Right whale dolphins)	Northern right whale dolphin (L. borealis) Southern right whale dolphin (L. peronii)
Orcaella	Irrawaddy dolphin (O. brevirostris) Australian snubfin dolphin (O. heinsohni)
Orcinus	Orca or killer whale (O. orca)
Peponocephala	Melon-headed whale (P. electra)
Pseudorca	False killer whale (P. crassidens)
Sotalia	Tucuxi (S. fluviatilis) Guiana dolphin (S. guianensis)
Sousa (Humpback dolphins)	Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (S. chinensis) Indian Ocean humpback dolphin (S. plumbea) Australian humpback dolphin (S. sahulensis) Atlantic humpback dolphin (S. teuszii)
Stenella	Pantropical spotted dolphin (S. attenuata) Clymene dolphin (S. clymene) Striped dolphin (S. coeruleoalba) Atlantic spotted dolphin (S. frontalis) Spinner dolphin (S. longirostris)
Steno	Rough-toothed dolphin (S. bredanensis)
Tursiops (Bottlenose dolphins)	Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin (T. aduncus) Burrunan dolphin (T. australis) Tamanend's bottlenose dolphin (T. erebennus) Common bottlenose dolphin (T. truncatus)

Monodontidae

Delphinapterus	Beluga whale (D. leucas)
Monodon	Narwhal (M. monoceros)

Phocoenidae
(Porpoises)

Neophocoena (Finless porpoises)	Indo-Pacific finless porpoise (N. phocaenoides) Yangtze finless porpoise (N. asiaeorientalis)
Phocoena	Spectacled porpoise (P. dioptrica) Harbour porpoise (P. phocoena) Vaquita (P. sinus) Burmeister's porpoise (P. spinipinnis)
Phocoenoides	Dall's porpoise (P. dalli)

Physeteridae

Physeter	Sperm whale (P. macrocephalus)

Kogiidae

Kogia	Pygmy sperm whale (K. breviceps) Dwarf sperm whale (K. simus)

Iniidae

Inia	Araguaian river dolphin (I. araguaiaensis) Bolivian river dolphin (I. boliviensis) Amazon river dolphin (I. geoffrensis)

Lipotidae

Lipotes	Baiji (L. vexillifer)

Platanistidae

Platanista	Ganges river dolphin (P. gangetica) Indus river dolphin (P. minor)

Pontoporiidae

Pontoporia	La Plata dolphin (P. blainvillei)

Ziphiidae
(Beaked whales)

Berardius	Arnoux's beaked whale (B. arnuxii) Baird's beaked whale (B. bairdii) Sato's beaked whale (B. minimus)
Hyperoodon (Bottlenose whales)	Northern bottlenose whale (H. ampullatus) Southern bottlenose whale (H. planifrons)
Indopacetus	Tropical bottlenose whale (I. pacificus)
Mesoplodon (Mesoplodont whales)	Sowerby's beaked whale (M. bidens) Andrews' beaked whale (M. bowdoini) Hubbs' beaked whale (M. carlhubbsi) Blainville's beaked whale (M. densirostris) Ramari's beaked whale (M. eueu) Gervais's beaked whale (M. europaeus) Ginkgo-toothed beaked whale (M. ginkgodens) Gray's beaked whale (M. grayi) Hector's beaked whale (M. hectori) Deraniyagala's beaked whale (M. hotaula) Strap-toothed whale (M. layardii) True's beaked whale (M. mirus) Perrin's beaked whale (M. perrini) Pygmy beaked whale (M. peruvianus) Stejneger's beaked whale (M. stejnegeri) Spade-toothed whale (M. traversii)
Tasmacetus	Shepherd's beaked whale (T. shepherdi)
Ziphius	Cuvier's beaked whale (Z. cavirostris)

Odontocete genera

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Artiodactyla
Infraorder: Cetacea

Odontoceti

†Agorophius †Ankylorhiza †Archaeodelphis †Argyrocetus †Ashleycetus †Caolodelphis †Chilcacetus †Enigmatocetus †Eoplatanista †Inticetus †Macrodelphinus †Microcetus †Mirocetus †Neosqualodon †Olympicetus †Papahu †Patriocetus †Phoberodon †Phococetus †Prosqualodon †Sachalinocetus †Simocetus †Sulakocetus †Tangaroasaurus
†Xenorophidae	Albertocetus Cotylocara Echovenator Inermorostrum Xenorophus
†Waipatiidae	Awamokoa Ediscetus Nihohae Nihoroa Otekaikea Urkudelphis Waipatia
†Squalodontidae	Eosqualodon Squalodon
†Squaloziphiidae	Crisocetus? Squaloziphius Yaquinacetus
†Eurhinodelphinidae	Ceterhinops Eurhinodelphis Iniopsis Mycteriacetus Phocaenopsis Schizodelphis Vanbreenia Xiphiacetus Ziphiodelphis
Crown-Odontoceti	see below↓

Crown-Odontoceti

Physeteroidea

†Acrophyseter †Albicetus †Brygmophyseter †Eudelphis †Hoplocetus †Livyatan †Miophyseter †Rhaphicetus †Scaldicetus †Zygophyseter
Kogiidae	†Aprixokogia Kogia †Koristocetus †Nanokogia †Platyscaphokogia †Pliokogia †Praekogia †Scaphokogia †Thalassocetus?
Physeteridae	†Aulophyseter †Cozzuoliphyseter †Diaphorocetus †Idiophyseter †Idiorophus †Orycterocetus Physeter †Physeterula †Placoziphius †Thalassocetus?

Platanistoidea

†Aondelphis †Dolgopolis †Ensidelphis †Perditicetus †Eurhinodelphinidae? †Squalodontidae? †Waipatiidae?
†Allodelphinidae?	Allodelphis Arktocara Goedertius Ninjadelphis Zarhinocetus
†Squalodelphinidae?	Furcacetus Huaridelphis Macrosqualodelphis Medocinia Notocetus Phocageneus Squalodelphis
Platanistidae	†Araeodelphis †Dilophodelphis †Grimadelphis †Pachyacanthus? †Pebanista Platanista †Pomatodelphis †Prepomatodelphis †Zarhachis?

Ziphiidae

†Aporotus †Beneziphius †Caviziphius †Chavinziphius †Chimuziphius †Choneziphius †Dagonodum †Globicetus †Imocetus †Messapicetus †Nazcacetus †Nenga †Ninoziphius †Notoziphius †Pterocetus Tasmacetus †Tusciziphius †Xhosacetus †Ziphirostrum
Berardiinae	†Archaeoziphius Berardius †Microberardius
Ziphiinae	†Izikoziphius Ziphius
Hyperoodontinae	†Africanacetus Hyperoodon †Ihlengesi Indopacetus Mesoplodon

Delphinida	see below↓

Delphinida

†Albireo †Atocetus †Brevirostrodelphis †Cammackacetus †Delphinodon †Hadrodelphis †Herbeinodelphis †Liolithax †Lophocetus †Macrokentriodon †Miminiacetus †Odobenocetops †Pictodelphis †Pithanodelphis †Tagicetus †Westmorelandelphis
†Kentriodontidae	Belonodelphis? Kampholophos Kentriodon Platysvercus Sophianacetus Rudicetus Wimahl
Lipotidae	Lipotes †Parapontoporia †Prolipotes

Inioidea

†Awadelphis
Iniidae	†Brujadelphis †Goniodelphis Inia †Ischyrorhynchus †Isoninia? †Isthminia †Kwanzacetus †Meherrinia †Plicodontinia †Saurocetes
Pontoporiidae	†Atocetus? †Auroracetus †Brachydelphis †Piscorhynchus †Pliopontos †Pontistes †Protophocaena †Samaydelphis †Scaldiporia †Stenasodelphis Pontoporia

Delphinoidea

Monodontidae	†Bohaskaia †Casatia Delphinapterus †Denebola †Haborodelphis Monodon
Phocoenidae	†Archaeophocaena †Australithax †Haborophocoena †Lomacetus †Miophocaena Neophocaena †Numataphocoena Phocoena Phocoenoides †Piscolithax †Pterophocaena? †Semirostrum †Septemtriocetus

Delphinidae

†Arimidelphis †Australodelphis †Eodelphinus †Etruridelphis †Hemisyntrachelus Lagenorhynchus †Norisdelphis Orcinus †Platalearostrum †Pliodelphis †Pterophocaena?
Lissodelphininae	Cephalorhynchus Lissodelphis
Delphininae	Delphinus Lagenodelphis Sotalia Sousa Stenella Tursiops
Globicephalinae	Feresa Globicephala Grampus Orcaella Peponocephala Pseudorca Steno

Taxon identifiers
Inia	Wikidata: Q2896224 Wikispecies: Inia ADW: pictures BioLib: 20773 BOLD: 3130 CoL: 54GB EoL: 46559398 GBIF: 2440313 iNaturalist: 41471 IRMNG: 1336491 ITIS: 180406 MSW: 14300137 NBN: NHMSYS0000376785 NCBI: 9724 Paleobiology Database: 63506 uBio: 1761114 WoRMS: 254959