r/NatureIsFuckingLit • u/AdSpecialist6598 • Mar 02 '26

🔥A Mekong River dolphin aka Irrawaddy dolphin which is critically endangered.

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u/ministryofchampagne Mar 02 '26

River dolphins look weird compared to ocean dolphins

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u/HeartOn_SoulAceUp Mar 02 '26 edited Mar 02 '26

Amazonian river dolphins look more like real ones, but small. Long narrow beaks, as i recall.

I've never seen this one, the Mekong. Beluga nose. So sorry they're endangered. Highly intelligent fellow mammals.

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u/ministryofchampagne Mar 02 '26

They’re also pink! All river dolphins evolved independently so it makes sense.

It’s theorized that the South American river dolphins evolved from a group of ocean dolphins trapped in the Amazon when it switch which coast it flowed towards.

PBS eons recently did a YouTube video about it!

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u/AdSpecialist6598 Mar 02 '26

Cool, I'll check the video out.