La Plata dolphin
Pontoporia blainvillei (Gervais & d'Orbigny, 1844)
VUVulnerablewhales and dolphins
The la plata dolphin (Pontoporia blainvillei) is a species in the family Pontoporiidae, order Cetacea. Recorded adults weigh 40.4 kg to 40.5 kg and live up to 16 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Vulnerable.
Quick facts about the la plata dolphin
- Weight
- 40.5 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 16 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Piscivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Gestation
- 330 dayssrc for Gestation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 1src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 2.51 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 0.635src for Litters or clutches a year
- Active
- By day (diurnal)src for Active
- Lifestyle
- Marinesrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Vulnerable (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the la plata dolphin live?
Not recorded
What is the la plata dolphin?
The La Plata dolphin, franciscana or toninha (Pontoporia blainvillei) is a species of river dolphin found in coastal Atlantic waters of southeastern South America. It is a member of the Inioidea group and the only one that lives in the ocean and saltwater estuaries, rather than inhabiting exclusively freshwater systems. Commercialized areas that create agricultural runoffs and industrialized zones can affect the health of the La Plata dolphin, especially in regards to their contributions of waste and pollution, which can lead to habitat degradation and poisoned food among other concerns.
From the Wikipedia article “La Plata dolphin” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=La_Plata_dolphin&oldid=1384639807), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the la plata dolphin endangered?
The la plata dolphin is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List: it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Vulnerable species.
How is the la plata dolphin classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classMammalia
- orderCetacea
- familyPontoporiidae
- genusPontoporia
- SpeciesPontoporia blainvillei (Gervais & d'Orbigny, 1844)
Synonyms Delphinus blainvillei, Pontoporia blainvillei, Pontoporia blainvillii, Pontoporia tenuirostris, Stenodelphis blainvillei
Other names and names in other languages (35)
- FranciscanaEnglish
- FranciscanaEnglish
- Franciscana dolphinEnglish
- La PlataEnglish
- La Plata river dolphinEnglish
- La Plata river dolphinEnglish
- دلفين لابلاتاArabic
- دلفين نهرلابلاتاArabic
- delfínovec laplatskýCzech
- La Plata-DelphinGerman
- La-Plata-DelphinGerman
- toninaSpanish
- Delfín de La PlataSpanish
- delfin del PlataSpanish
- Delfín del PlataSpanish
- delfinilloSpanish
- FrancisacanaSpanish
- LaplatandelfiiniFinnish
- rannikkojokidelfiiniFinnish
- dauphin de la PlataFrench
- Sósvízi folyamidelfinHungarian
- PontoporiaItalian
- ラプラタカワイルカJapanese
- LaplatadelfinNorwegian Bokmål
- La Plata dolfijnDutch
- Delfin małyPolish
- Delfin La PlatyPolish
- Tonina małaPolish
- toninhaPortuguese
- boto amareloPortuguese
- cachimboPortuguese
- Golfinho-do-rio-da-prataPortuguese
- Ла-платский дельфинRussian
- laplatska pliskavkaSlovenian
- La Plata YunusuTurkish
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the la plata dolphin
Other species in the same family Pontoporiidae.
CompareLa Plata dolphin vs Samaydelphis chacaltanaeLa Plata dolphin vs Scaldiporia vandokkumi
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the la plata dolphin?
An adult la plata dolphin weighs 40.5 kg, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the la plata dolphin endangered?
The la plata dolphin is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, meaning it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.
How long does the la plata dolphin live?
The la plata dolphin has a recorded lifespan of 16 years.
How long is the la plata dolphin pregnant?
The recorded gestation period is 330 days.
What kind of animal is the la plata dolphin?
The la plata dolphin (Pontoporia blainvillei) belongs to the family Pontoporiidae in the order Cetacea.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · 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 · 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 · 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 · 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 · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · 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).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). La Plata dolphin (Pontoporia blainvillei). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/la-plata-dolphin
“La Plata dolphin (Pontoporia blainvillei).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/la-plata-dolphin.
@misc{la_plata_dolphin_2026,
title = {La Plata dolphin (Pontoporia blainvillei)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/la-plata-dolphin},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}