Platanista gangetica

(Lebeck, 1801)

Ganges River Dolphin

Taxonomy

Subclass : Theria
Infraclass : Placentalia
Magnorder : Boreoeutheria
Superorder : Laurasiatheria
Order : Artiodactyla
Suborder : Whippomorpha
Infraorder : Cetacea
Parvorder : Odontoceti
Superfamily : Platanistoidea
Family : Platanistidae
Genus : Platanista

Species status

Living
Found in the wild
Listed in MSW3 2005

Authority citation

Lebeck, H.J., 1801. Delphinus gangeticus beschrieben von Heinrich Julius Lebeck zu Trankenbar.— Der Gesellschaft naturforschender Freunde zu Berlin Neue Schriften 3: 280-282, Tab. II.

Original name as described

Delphinus gangeticus

Other common names

Blind River Dolphin · Indian River Dolphin · South Asian River Dolphin · Susu

Type material

BMNH:Mamm:1884.5.3.1 (= BMNH:Mamm:1939.4523)

Type kind

holotype

Type specimen URI

https://data.nhm.ac.uk/object/85a65bef-dffe-43fa-b642-548e423d5cce

Type locality

the banks of the Hooghly River, close to Calcutta, India.

Biogeographic realm

Indomalaya

Country distribution

India · Bangladesh · Nepal · Bhutan?

Taxonomy notes

recent authors have included P. minor as a subspecies of P. gangetica, but recent molecular and morphological research supports their species status

Taxonomy notes citation

Braulik, G. T., Barnett, R., Odon, V., Islas-Villanueva, V., Hoelzel, A. R., & Graves, J. A. (2015). One species or two? Vicariance, lineage divergence and low mtDNA diversity in geographically isolated populations of South Asian River dolphin. Journal of Mammalian Evolution, 22(1), 111-120. · Braulik, G. T., I. Archer, F., Khan, U., Imran, M., Sinha, R. K., Jefferson, T. A., ... & Graves, J. A. (2021). Taxonomic revision of the South Asian River dolphins (Platanista): Indus and Ganges River dolphins are separate species. Marine Mammal Science.

IUCN Red List status

Endangered

Species Permalink

https://www.mammaldiversity.org/taxon/1006462

Country distribution map

The map below provides a general overview. Most species inhabit only specific regions within countries. Known distribution is shown in green and predicted distribution is in yellow. Hover over the highlighted regions to see the country name.

Names and synonyms

Present and past (if available) associated names to the species. Click on a name to view its details. If the list is long, scroll down to see more.

Delphinus gangeticus

(Lebeck, 1801)

Family

Platanistidae

Root name

gangetica

Validity status

species

Nomenclatural status

available

Type

BMNH:Mamm:1884.5.3.1 (= BMNH:Mamm:1939.4523)

Type kind

holotype

Type specimen URI

https://data.nhm.ac.uk/object/85a65bef-dffe-43fa-b642-548e423d5cce

Authority publication

Der Gesellschaft naturforschender Freunde zu Berlin Neue Schriften

Name usages

Lesson (1842:198) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/36812)

Delphinus gangeticus

(Roxburgh, 1801)

Family

Platanistidae

Root name

gangetica

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

preoccupied

Type

BMNH:Mamm:1884.5.3.1 (= BMNH:Mamm:1939.4523)

Type kind

holotype

Type specimen URI

https://data.nhm.ac.uk/object/85a65bef-dffe-43fa-b642-548e423d5cce

Authority page

170, pl. 5

Authority publication

Asiatic Researches

Susu Platanista

(Lesson, 1828)

Family

Platanistidae

Root name

platanista

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

nomen_novum

Type

BMNH:Mamm:1884.5.3.1 (= BMNH:Mamm:1939.4523)

Type kind

holotype

Type specimen URI

https://data.nhm.ac.uk/object/85a65bef-dffe-43fa-b642-548e423d5cce

Authority page

215, 440

Authority page URI

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/61811884

Authority publication

Paris

Delphinorhyncus gangeticus

(Lesson, 1827)

Family

Platanistidae

Root name

gangeticus

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

name_combination

Authority page

406

Authority page URI

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/54207873

Authority publication

Paris

Name usages

Lesson (1827:406, https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/54207873) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/36839)

Platanista gangetica

E. Blyth, 1863

Family

Platanistidae

Root name

gangetica

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

name_combination

Authority page

92

Authority page URI

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/47534773

Authority publication

Calcutta

Name usages

  1. Blyth (1863:92, https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/47534773) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/37155)
  2. Corbet & Hill (1980:108) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/63069)
  3. Honacki, Kinman & Koeppl (1982:290) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/63071)
  4. Mead & Brownell (2005) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/9684)
  5. Mittermeier & Wilson (2014:363) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/67175)
  6. Mammal Diversity Database (2018:ID #41758) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/67336)
  7. Mammal Diversity Database (2019:ID #41758) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/67337)
  8. Mammal Diversity Database (2024, https://www.mammaldiversity.org/taxon/1006462) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/67250)
  9. International Union for the Conservation of Nature (2024, https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/41756/50383346) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/67246)

Platanista gangetica gangetica

Mittermeier & D. E. Wilson, 2014

Family

Platanistidae

Root name

gangetica

Validity status

synonym

Nomenclatural status

name_combination

Authority page

363

Authority publication

Barcelona

Name usages

Mittermeier & Wilson (2014:363) (information at https://hesperomys.com/a/67175)

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