Ganges river dolphin
| Ganges river dolphin Temporal range: Early Holocene – present | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Infraorder: | Cetacea |
| Family: | Platanistidae |
| Genus: | Platanista |
| Species: | P. gangetica |
| Binomial name | |
| Platanista gangetica (Lebeck, 1801) | |
| Ranges of the Indus river dolphin and Ganges river dolphin | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Platanista gangetica gangetica | |
The Ganges river dolphin (Platanista gangetica) is a species of freshwater dolphin classified in the family Platanistidae. It lives in the Ganges and related rivers of South Asia, namely in the countries of India, Nepal, and Bangladesh. It is related to the much smaller Indus river dolphin which lives in the Indus River in Pakistan and the Beas River of northwestern India.
It is also known by the name susu (popular name) also hihu or huhu (Assamese: শিশু, শুশুক) in Assam and shushuk (Bengali: শুশুক) in West Bengal and Bangladesh. The Ganges river dolphin has been recognized by the Government of India as its National Aquatic Animal and is the official animal of the Indian city of Guwahati. Its first occurrence, within the Hooghly River, was documented by William Roxburgh.