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Tucuxi
Instituto Boto Cinza, CC BY-SA 4.0, via iNaturalist

Dolphins & whales

Tucuxi

Sotalia fluviatilis (Gervais & Deville, 1853)

EN Endangered

Names

EnglishTucuxi
DutchTucuxi
SpanishTucuxi
Chinese土库海豚
Scientific nameSotalia fluviatilis (Gervais & Deville, 1853)

About this species

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 tuchuchi-ana, and has now been adopted as the species' common name. Despite being found in geographic locations similar to those of 'true' river dolphins such as the boto, the tucuxi is not closely related to them genetically. Instead, it is classed in the oceanic dolphin family, Delphinidae.

Physically, the species resembles the bottlenose dolphins, but differs sufficiently to be placed in a separate genus, Sotalia. The Guiana dolphin (Sotalia guianensis), a related dolphin present in coastal and estuarine environments and formerly grouped together with the tucuxi, have recently been recognized as a distinct species.

Read more on Wikipedia · Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Classification

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumChordata
ClassMammalia
OrderCetacea
FamilyDelphinidae
GenusSotalia

In Suriname

14Records in Suriname
1964First record

Where it has been recorded

  • Commewijne3

Districts with at least one record that has coordinates. Shaded districts have records.

Sources & credits

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Related species in Suriname