river dolphin
noun
: any of various small, toothed whales (as of the families Platanistidae and Iniidae) that chiefly inhabit rivers of South America and Asia and have a rounded forehead and a snout elongated into a long beak
Examples of river dolphin in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
In fact, all extant river dolphin species are endangered or critically endangered, the IUCN says.
—
Mindy Weisberger, CNN, 26 Mar. 2024
The largest river dolphin fossil has been found — thousands of miles from its nearest living relative, reports an international group of paleontologists in Science Advances.
—Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 22 Mar. 2024
Amazon river dolphins die en masse The bodies of more than 150 pink river dolphins were found in unusually warm waters in Lake Tefé in the Amazon this fall, when some of the more pronounced effects of El Niño emerged.
—Bryan Pietsch, Washington Post, 19 Feb. 2024
There’s the South Asian river dolphin (Platanista genus) and the Amazon river dolphin (Inia genus), also known as the pink river dolphin, and the two groups include several species and subspecies.
—Mindy Weisberger, CNN, 26 Mar. 2024
The study noted that it has previously been observed in a number of marine mammals, including walruses, Amazon river dolphins and gray seals.
—Matt Lavietes, NBC News, 29 Feb. 2024
Female koalas sometimes mount other females, while male Amazon river dolphins have been known to penetrate each other’s blowholes.
—Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 5 June 2023
Due to the low water levels, endangered pink river dolphins in Lake Tefé, Brazil are at risk of suffocation and a major hydropower plant near Porto Velho has also been shut down.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 25 Oct. 2023
In Lake Tefé, water temperatures remain high and the carcasses of more pink river dolphins have surfaced over the last week, bringing the death toll to 153 since the first carcasses were recovered on Sept. 23, Dr. Fleischmann said.
—Manuela Andreoni, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2023
Mindy Weisberger, CNN, 26 Mar. 2024
The largest river dolphin fossil has been found — thousands of miles from its nearest living relative, reports an international group of paleontologists in Science Advances.
—Paul Smaglik, Discover Magazine, 22 Mar. 2024
Amazon river dolphins die en masse The bodies of more than 150 pink river dolphins were found in unusually warm waters in Lake Tefé in the Amazon this fall, when some of the more pronounced effects of El Niño emerged.
—Bryan Pietsch, Washington Post, 19 Feb. 2024
There’s the South Asian river dolphin (Platanista genus) and the Amazon river dolphin (Inia genus), also known as the pink river dolphin, and the two groups include several species and subspecies.
—Mindy Weisberger, CNN, 26 Mar. 2024
The study noted that it has previously been observed in a number of marine mammals, including walruses, Amazon river dolphins and gray seals.
—Matt Lavietes, NBC News, 29 Feb. 2024
Female koalas sometimes mount other females, while male Amazon river dolphins have been known to penetrate each other’s blowholes.
—Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 5 June 2023
Due to the low water levels, endangered pink river dolphins in Lake Tefé, Brazil are at risk of suffocation and a major hydropower plant near Porto Velho has also been shut down.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 25 Oct. 2023
In Lake Tefé, water temperatures remain high and the carcasses of more pink river dolphins have surfaced over the last week, bringing the death toll to 153 since the first carcasses were recovered on Sept. 23, Dr. Fleischmann said.
—Manuela Andreoni, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'river dolphin.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near river dolphin
Cite this Entry
“River dolphin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/river%20dolphin. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share