The Araguaia river dolphin, named after the Araguaia river where it was found, is only the fifth known species of its kind in the world. Researchers in Brazil say it separated from other South American river species more than two million years ago. River dolphins are among the world’s rarest creatures.There are only four known species, and three of them are on the red list, meaning they are critically endangered. These River dolphins are only distantly related to their seafaring cousins, tending to have long beaks which let them hunt for fish in the mud at the bottom of rivers. South America though is home to the Amazon river dolphin, also known as the pink dolphin or boto, said to be the most intelligent of all the river species.The new discovery is said to be related to the Amazonian, although scientists believe the species separated more than two million years ago. The scientists say there are some differences in the number of teeth and they suspect the Araguaia river species is smaller, but most of the clues to their separate nature were found in their genes. By analysing DNA samples from dozens of dolphins in both rivers, the team concluded the Araguaia river creature was indeed a new species. They acknowledge though that some experts may question whether or not the discovery is in fact, wholly distinct. They estimate that there are about 1,000 of these creatures living in the river that flows northward for more than 2,600km to join the Amazon. The researchers propose that the new species be called the Araguaian Boto, or Boto-do-Araguaia. MORE… More:
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