# Amazon river dolphin (*Inia geoffrensis*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/amazon-river-dolphin  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The amazon river dolphin (Inia geoffrensis), also called the boto or pink river dolphin, is a mammal in the whales and dolphins group, belonging to the order Cetacea, suborder Odontoceti and family Iniidae. It is a large animal by our size class, with a representative adult body mass of 129.2 kg and reported values from 98.5 to 154 kg. This diurnal freshwater species is a piscivore and sits at the carnivore trophic level. It is listed as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List, a threatened category, and has a gestation period of 299.2 days with 1 young per litter.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 98.5 kg – 154 kg |
| Length | 2.5 m |
| Lifespan | 30 years |
| Diet | Piscivore |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 31.3 years |
| Main food | vertebrates |
| Habitat | freshwater |
| Gestation | 299 days – 365 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 1 |
| Litters or clutches a year | 0.667 |
| Active | By day (diurnal) |
| Lifestyle | Marine |
| Conservation status | Endangered (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Mammalia
- order: Cetacea
- family: Iniidae
- genus: Inia
- species: *Inia geoffrensis* (Blainville, 1817)

Synonyms: *Delphinorhynchus geoffroyi*, *Delphinus frontatus*, *Delphinus geoffrensis*, *Delphinus geoffroyi*, *Delphinus geoffroyi*, *Delphinus inia*, *Delphinus rostratus*, *Inia amazonicus*, *Inia araguaiaensis*, *Inia geoffrensis humboldtiana*, *Inia geoffroyensis*, *Inia geoffroyi*, *Inia geoffroyii*, *Inia humboldtiana*, *Sotalia pallida*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the amazon river dolphin?

The amazon river dolphin is a mammal in the whales and dolphins group, classified in the order Cetacea, suborder Odontoceti and family Iniidae.

### How heavy is the amazon river dolphin?

Adults have a representative body mass of 129.2 kg, with reported values from 98.5 to 154 kg.

### What does the amazon river dolphin eat?

The amazon river dolphin is a piscivore, placed at the carnivore trophic level.

### Is the amazon river dolphin endangered?

Yes. It is listed as Endangered (EN) in the IUCN Red List global assessment, which is a threatened category.

### How long does the amazon river dolphin live?

Its lifespan is given as 30 years, with values up to 31.3 years reported by our sources.

### How many young does the amazon river dolphin have?

It has 1 young per litter, after a gestation period of 299.2 days, and reaches sexual maturity at 5 years.

### Who named the amazon river dolphin?

Its scientific name, Inia geoffrensis, carries the authority (Blainville, 1817).

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [EltonTraits 1.0: species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1), CC0 1.0, 1.0. Wilman, H., Belmaker, J., Simpson, J., de la Rosa, C., Rivadeneira, M.M. & Jetz, W. (2014) EltonTraits 1.0: Species-level foraging attributes of the world's birds and mammals. Ecology 95: 2027. https://doi.org/10.1890/13-1917.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3559887.v1
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Amazon river dolphin (Inia geoffrensis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/amazon-river-dolphin