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Ecology & Environment
Pradeep Kumar

12/04/21 10:05 AM IST

Indus and Ganges river dolphins

In news

The researchers studied ancient DNA that they got out of skulls and skeletons which were 20 to 30 to even 150 years old.

Highlights
  • Detailed analysis of South Asian river dolphins has revealed that the Indus and Ganges River dolphins are not one, but two separate species.
  • Currently, they are classified as two subspecies under Platanista gangetica and this needs a revision.
  • The study estimates that Indus and Ganges river dolphins may have diverged around 550,000 years ago.
  • The international team studied body growth, skull morphology, tooth counts, colouration and genetic makeup and published the findings last month in Marine Mammal Science.
  • The Indus and Ganges River dolphins are both classified as ‘Endangered’ species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
What needs to be done?

The Indian government has given legal protection to the dolphin, more ground action and close work with local communities are needed to help them survive

Dolphins in Odhisa
  • The population of dolphins in Chilika, India s largest brackish water lake, and along the Odisha coast has doubled this year compared with last year.
  • The wildlife wing of the State Forest and Environment Department released the final data on the dolphin census conducted in January and February this year, indicating a spectacular growth in numbers.
  • The highest growth has been noticed in the case of humpback dolphins. Only two humpbacks were sighted in the Rajnagar mangrove in 2020. In 2021, however, this population grew astronomically to 281
  • These humpback dolphins were not part of any riverine systems, so they cannot be identified as residential mammals.
  • They were spotted travelling along the Odisha coast and the number is likely to fluctuate in the next census.
Source: The Hindu

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