Mammals · Artiodactyla · Pontoporiidae
Franciscana
Pontoporia blainvillei
It faces a high risk of extinction in the wild over the medium term. See full glossary
It rivals Hector's dolphin for the title of smallest dolphin in the world and, though it belongs to the river dolphin group, it is the only one of them that lives entirely in coastal sea water.
Weight
23 kg – 50 kg
Size
1.3 m – 1.8 m
Lifespan
15 years
Diet
Carnivore
Feeds mainly on other animals.
Activity
Diurnal
Active mainly during the day.
Social structure
Solitary
Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.
Sighting difficulty
Moderate
Fun facts
- It rivals the title of smallest dolphin in the world.
- It is the only river dolphin that lives entirely in coastal sea water.
- It is monogamous, which is uncommon among cetaceans.
Life cycle & biology
- Skeleton type
- Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (marine mammal)
- Habitat & environment
- Shallow coastal waters of the south-western Atlantic, from southern Brazil to northern Argentina, the Río de la Plata estuary included
- Birth weight
- Roughly 63-70 cm long at birth (full-term foetus)
- Size at birth
- 63 - 70 cm long at birth
- Sexual maturity
- Female: ~3 years (~137-146 cm) | Male: ~2.9-3.5 years
- Gestation / incubation
- 10.5-11.2 months
- Litter / clutch size
- 1 young a season, breeding every year
Sources consulted: ResearchGate (male reproductive biology study); Dolphins World; ScienceDirect (Argentina reproductive aspects study); Cambridge Core (age growth study); NOAA Repository (age growth southeastern Brazil study)
Where to find it
See its range on the interactive mapBest time: All year round in shallow coastal waters of southern Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina, although it is very unobtrusive and hard to watch.
Where to watch it
Parks and dive sites where this species has been documented.
Related species
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Franciscana — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Bluefish
Pomatomus saltatrix
Atlantic Goliath Grouper
Epinephelus itajara
South American Sea Lion
Otaria flavescens
Man-of-war Fish
Nomeus gronovii
South American Fur Seal
Arctocephalus australis
Spot-fin Porcupinefish
Diodon hystrix
How to help
The franciscana is classified as vulnerable. Organizations such as UICN, WWF y Wildlife Conservation Society work specifically on its conservation and that of its habitat; looking into their programs is a good starting point if you want to get involved.
It's documented in 4 real protected areas — part of why protecting these places matters for its conservation.
Keep exploring
Based on what we already know about franciscana.
Comments
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