FRESH-WATER DOLPHINS. 39 



belonging to the cat-fish group (Silwridce). These are doubtless captured by the 

 dolphin probing for them in the mud with its long snout. The captive specimen 

 above mentioned fed on the fish with which it was supplied only during the night, 

 but careful observations made on these dolphins in their native state prove that 

 they feed by day as well as by night. Sometimes they may be seen among the 

 shipping in the Hughli at Calcutta, in search of their favourite prawns during the 

 daytime. The grain which is sometimes found in the stomachs of these animals 

 appears to be swallowed unintentionally. 



The young are born from April to July, and it is but very rarely 



that there is more than one at a birth. The period of gestation is 



believed to be from eight to nine months. It is said that the young will hold on 



by its mouth to the base of one of the flippers of its parent ; but such a remarkable 



habit requires confirmation. 



The Amazonian The fresh-water dolphin of the Amazons (Inia geoffroyensis) 



Dolphin. more resembles a porpoise in general appearance than the last species. 

 The long cylindrical beak, which carries from twenty-six to thirty-three teeth 

 on each side of the jaws, is peculiar in being furnished with a number of sparsely 

 distributed bristle-like hairs. The teeth are characterised by having a distinct 

 tubercle on the inner side of the base of their crowns; and the back-fin is repre- 

 sented merely by a low ridge. The males attain a length of about 7 feet, while 

 the females are little more than half the size. In general, the upper-parts are 

 blackish, and the under-parts reddish ; but individuals are found which are either 

 entirely blackish or wholly reddish. The eye is well developed; and the flippers 

 have not the fan-like shape characterising those of the (Jangetic dolphin. In the 

 skeleton, the breast-bone is short and broad, and composed only of a single piece; 

 while the horizontal transverse processes of the vertebra of the hinder portion of 

 the trunk are remarkable for their great width. 

 Distribution. The inia, or bouto, as the animal is called in various parts of 



and Habits. South America, is entirely fluviatile, and inhabits the upper portions 

 of the Amazons and its affluents; ranging over the area of country included 

 between the 10th and 1 7th parallels of south latitude. In addition to the bouto, 

 there are the other species of dolphins, belonging to the family Delphlnidce, found 

 in certain parts of the Amazons. One of these, called the tucuxi (a species of the 

 genus Sotalia), when it comes to the surface to breathe rises, according to Bates, 

 horizontally, showing first its long, low back-fin. It then draws an inspiration, 

 and finally dives gently, head-foremost, down. On the other hand, when the bouto 

 rises, " the top of the head is the part first seen ; it then blows, and immediately 

 afterwards dips head downwards, its back curving over, exposing successively the 

 whole dorsal ridge. It thus seems to pitch heels-over-head, but does not show the 

 tail-fin. Besides this peculiar motion [which seems to be very similar to that of 

 the Gangetic dolphin], it is distinguished from the tucuxi by its habit of generally 

 going in pairs. Both species are exceedingly numerous throughout the Amazon 

 and its larger tributaries, but they are nowhere more plentiful than in the shoaly 

 water at the mouth of the Tocantins, especially in the dry season. In the upper 

 Amazon, a third pale flesh-coloured species is also abundant. 1 In the broader 



1 Sotalia pallida, p. 62. 



