![]() Its unusually large flippers and flukes are probably an adaptation for maneuvering in shallow waters. Its flukes are large and broad and divided by a median notch. Its flippers are large in proportion to its body and are used for steering. Instead of a dorsal fin, the boutu has a ridge on its back which rises to a modified hump at about the mid section of its body. The color becomes lighter as the dolphin matures, and ends up almost white, with tinges of bluish-gray. As it matures the gray is replaced by pink on the ventral or lower portion of the body, which spreads up the sides to the back. When it is young, the Amazon River dolphin is dark gray on the upper portion of its body. Its color is distinctive and varies considerably according to age. The ear opening is large and the Amazon River dolphin is known to have a well developed sense of hearing. Though its eyes are small its eyesight is good. ![]() The neck vertebrae are not fused together and this dolphin is able to bend its neck to an angle of 90 degrees to its body, downward or sideways. Its mouth is wide and straight and curves upward at the corners. It is thought these hairs provide a "sense of touch" while the animal forages in the mud for food. Another unique feature of this dolphin is the presence of stiff hairs on the upper and lower portions of the beak. The conical teeth are in the forward part of its mouth and are used for holding and grasping prey which is then worked to the rear of the mouth to be thoroughly crushed by the molars before being swallowed. It has a prominent domed forehead ending in a long beak which contains 24 to 34 conical and molar-type teeth on each side of the jaws. The Amazon River dolphin, or boutu, is a fresh water dolphin of medium size, with a heavy, thickset body. The Portuguese name for this species in Brazil is "boutu vermelho" - red dolphin. Its most amazing characteristic is its color, which ranges - depending on its age - from soft, rosy pink to a vivid, almost shocking pink. ![]() The Amazon River Dolphin, also called the boutu, boto, or bufeo, is the largest of the freshwater dolphins, and like all freshwater dolphins it is endangered because of hunting, human pressures, and degradation of habitat.
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