kanaloa

Guiana River Dolphin

Guiana River Dolphin (Sotalia guianensis)
This dolphin inhabits the coastal waters as well as the streams of Surinam, British and French Guiana. About a dozen species of Sotalia inhabit the tropical coastal waters or rivers of South America, Africa, India, and the lands bordering the China Sea.
Two of the three species native to the Amazon often are found in its smaller tributaries, 1,500 or more miles upstream from the sea. When the German scientist, Alexander von Humboldt, was traveling by boat along •the Rio Temi to Yavita on the Venezuela Colombia frontier, his Indian boatmen usually followed open leads through the inundated forest. In the thickest part of the forest where the depth of the water was not more than half a fathom, Humboldt was astonished to see a school of these fresh-water dolphins suddenly appear around his boat.
The Guiana River Dolphin differs from others in having a slimmish body, a relatively large dorsal fin, and a peculiarly shaped slender beak. It is usually about five feet long. The dull lead-colored or brownish upper parts blend on the lower third of the sides with the pinkish or violet-gray underparts,

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