Irrawaddy Dolphin
Orcaella brevirostris
- Class
- Mammal
- Rarity
- Epic
- Observations
- 225
- Most observed in
- 🇲🇾 Malaysia
- Conservation
- Endangered
Description
The Irrawaddy dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris) is a euryhaline species of oceanic dolphin found in scattered subpopulations near sea coasts and in estuaries and rivers in parts of the Bay of Bengal and Southeast Asia. It closely resembles the Australian snubfin dolphin (of the same genus, Orcaella), which was not described as a separate species until 2005. It has a slate blue to a slate gray color. Although found in much of the riverine and marine zones of South and Southeast Asia, the only concentrated lagoon populations are found in Chilika Lake in Odisha, India, and Songkhla Lake in southern Thailand.
Summary adapted from the Wikipedia article “Irrawaddy dolphin”.