AnimalsThe Ganges river dolphin lives in the Ganga, the Brahmaputra and their branches. It is almost blind and finds fish by echolocation in the muddy water. It often swims on its side. It is the national aquatic animal of India.
Quick facts
- Scientific name
- Platanista gangetica
- Group
- Mammals
- Diet
- Carnivore (eats other animals)
- Lives in
- India, Nepal and Bangladesh
- Habitat
- Large muddy rivers
- A young one is called
- calf
- A group is called
- no special name
- Conservation status
- Endangered
How it is classified
Scientists sort living things into groups within groups. Reading down, each step is a smaller group, ending with the species itself.
- Kingdom Animalia
- Phylum Chordata
- Class Mammalia
- Order Cetacea
- Family Platanistidae
- Genus Platanista
- Species Platanista gangetica
More distant relatives in the order Cetacea: blue whale, common bottlenose dolphin, humpback whale, orca.
Classification follows the GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Other reference works arrange some groups differently. How classification works.
Is it in danger?
The Ganges river dolphin is listed as Endangered. The species faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild.
This is the IUCN Red List category as recorded in Wikidata on 11 November 2026. The IUCN Red List itself is the authority and may carry a newer assessment. What the categories mean.