''Inia'' is a genus of

river dolphin River dolphins are a polyphyletic group of fully aquatic mammals that reside exclusively in freshwater or brackish water. They are an informal grouping of dolphins, which itself is a paraphyletic group within the infraorder Cetacea. Extant riv ...

s from

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 sout ...

containing one to four species.

Taxonomy

The genus was described by

Alcide d'Orbigny Alcide Charles Victor Marie Dessalines d'Orbigny (6 September 1802 – 30 June 1857) was a French naturalist who made major contributions in many areas, including zoology (including malacology), palaeontology, geology, archaeology and anthropol ...

in 1834 when ''Delphinus geoffrensis'', described by

Henri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville Henri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville (; 12 September 1777 – 1 May 1850) was a French zoologist and anatomist. Life Blainville was born at Arques, near Dieppe. As a young man he went to Paris to study art, but ultimately devoted himself to natur ...

in 1817, was recognized to be a unique

taxon In biology, a taxon ( back-formation from '' taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular n ...

. A 1998 classification listed a single species, ''Inia geoffrensis'', in the genus ''Inia'', with three recognized subspecies. Most of the scientific community accepted this single species classification, as does the IUCN. As of 2016 the Committee on Taxonomy of the

Society for Marine Mammalogy The Society for Marine Mammalogy was founded in 1981 and is the largest international association of marine mammal scientists in the world. Mission The mission of the Society for Marine Mammalogy (SMM) is to promote the global advancement of mari ...

considers the genus ''Inia'' to contain one species with only two subspecies: the Bolivian (''I. g. boliviensis'') and the Amazon (''I. g. geoffrensis)'' subspecies. In 2014, the population in the Araguaia-

Tocantins Tocantins () is one of the 26 states of Brazil. It is the newest state, formed in 1988 and encompassing what had formerly been the northern two-fifths of the state of Goiás. Tocantins covers and had an estimated population of 1,496,880 in 20 ...

basin was proposed to define an additional species, ''Inia araguaiaensis'', but this remains debated. The American Society of Mammalogists recognizes the highest number of species at four, although this is only tentative, pending further studies which could either confirm or deny the classification. American Society of Mammalogists Classification Genus ''Inia'' * Species '' Inia araguaiaensis'' – Araguaian river dolphin * Species '' Inia boliviensis'' –

Bolivian river dolphin The Bolivian river dolphin (''Inia boliviensis'') is a species of the genus ''Inia''. Taxonomy Bolivian river dolphins were discovered by the Western world in 1832 by French researcher Alcide d'Orbigny. The Bolivian river dolphin was briefly th ...

* Species '' Inia geoffrensis'' –

Amazon river dolphin The Amazon river dolphin (''Inia geoffrensis''), also known as the boto, bufeo or pink river dolphin, is a species of toothed whale classified in the family Iniidae. Three subspecies are currently recognized: ''I. g. geoffrensis'' (Amazon river ...

* Species ''

Inia humboldtiana The Amazon river dolphin (''Inia geoffrensis''), also known as the boto, bufeo or pink river dolphin, is a species of toothed whale classified in the family Iniidae. Three subspecies are currently recognized: ''I. g. geoffrensis'' (Amazon riv ...

'' –

Orinoco river dolphin The Amazon river dolphin (''Inia geoffrensis''), also known as the boto, bufeo or pink river dolphin, is a species of toothed whale classified in the family Iniidae. Three subspecies are currently recognized: ''I. g. geoffrensis'' (Amazon river ...

IUCN Classification Genus ''Inia'' * Species '' Inia geoffrensis'' –

** Amazon Subspecies ''I. g. geoffrensis'' ** Bolivian Subspecies '' I. g. boliviensis'' ** Orinoco Subspecies ''I. g. humboldtiana'' Society For Marine Mammalogy Classification * Genus ''Inia'' ** Species '' Inia geoffrensis'' –

*** Amazon Subspecies ''I. g. geoffrensis'' *** Bolivian Subspecies ''I. g. boliviensis''

References

;General references * * Juliet Clutton-Brock (2000). Mammals, 381 pages. {{Taxonbar, from=Q2896224 River dolphins Cetacean genera Mammals of South America Mammals described in 1834 Taxa named by Alcide d'Orbigny pl:Inia sk:Inia