The

dolphin A dolphin is an aquatic mammal within the infraorder Cetacea. Dolphin species belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (the ...

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

''Sotalia'' is considered to have two member

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

with the classification of ''

Sotalia guianensis The Guiana dolphin (''Sotalia guianensis''), also known as the estuarine dolphin or costero, is a dolphin found in the coastal waters to the north and east of South America, and east of Central America. It is a member of the oceanic dolphin fami ...

'' as a distinct species from ''

Sotalia fluviatilis The tucuxi (''Sotalia fluviatilis''), alternatively known in Peru ''bufeo gris'' or ''bufeo negro'', is a species of freshwater dolphin found in the rivers of the Amazon basin. The word ''tucuxi'' is derived from the Tupi language word ''tuchu ...

'' in 2007. This was a result of recent morphometric analyses, as well as

mitochondrial DNA Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA or mDNA) is the DNA located in mitochondria, cellular organelles within eukaryotic cells that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial D ...

analysis.Caballero S, Trujillo F, Vianna JA, Barrios-Garrido H, Montiel MG, Beltran-Pedreros S, Marmontel M, Santos MC, Rossi-Santos M, Santos FR, Baker CS (2007) Taxonomic status of the genus Sotalia: species level ranking for 'tucuxi' (Sotalia fluviatilis) and 'costero' (Sotalia guianensis) dolphins. Mar Mamm Sci 23: 358-386. Members of this genus are found in the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

and

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

coasts of

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

as well as in the

Amazon River The Amazon River (, ; es, Río Amazonas, pt, Rio Amazonas) in South America is the largest river by discharge volume of water in the world, and the disputed longest river system in the world in comparison to the Nile. The headwaters of t ...

and most of its

tributaries A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drainage b ...

Member species

* ''

'' (Gervais & Deville, 1853), Tucuxi * ''

'' (van Bénéden, 1864), Costero or Guiana dolphin

References

External links

Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sotalia (Genus) Oceanic dolphins Cetacean genera Taxa named by John Edward Gray

Member species

References

Further reading

External links