What is the maximal age a South Asian river dolphin reaches?
An adult South Asian river dolphin (Platanista minor) usually gets as old as 28 years.
South Asian river dolphins are around 304 days in the womb of their mother. When born, they weight 7 kg (15.43 lbs) and measure 2 cm (0′ 1″). As a member of the Platanistidae family (genus: Platanista), their offspring is 1 babies per pregnancy. Fully grown, they reach a bodylength of 30 cm (1′ 0″).
As a reference: Usually, humans get as old as 100 years, with the average being around 75 years. After being carried in the belly of their mother for 280 days (40 weeks), they grow to an average size of 1.65m (5′ 5″) and weight in at 62 kg (137 lbs), which is obviously highly individual.
The South Asian river dolphin (Platanista gangetica) is an endangered freshwater or river dolphin found in the region of Indian subcontinent, which is split into two subspecies, the Ganges river dolphin (P. g. gangetica, ~3,500 individuals) and the Indus river dolphin (P. g. minor, ~1,500 individuals). The Ganges river dolphin is primarily found in the Ganges and Brahmaputra Rivers and their tributaries in India, Bangladesh, and Nepal, while the Indus river dolphin is now found only in the main channel of the Indus River in Pakistan and active channels connected to it between the Jinnah and Kotri barrages, and in the River Beas (a tributary of the Indus) in Punjab in India. From the 1970s until 1998, they were regarded as separate species; however, in 1998, their classification was changed from two separate species to subspecies of a single species (see taxonomy below). 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. The Indus river dolphin has been named as the National Mammal of Pakistan.
Animals of the same family as a South Asian river dolphin
Not really brothers and sisters, but from the same biological family (Platanistidae):
- Amazon river dolphin becoming 30 years old
- La Plata dolphin becoming 16 years old
- Baiji with 1 babies per pregnancy
- South Asian river dolphin becoming 28 years old
Animals that reach the same age as South Asian river dolphin
With an average age of 28 years, South Asian river dolphin are in good companionship of the following animals:
- Bharal usually reaching 24 years
- Addax usually reaching 25.67 years
- Ribbon seal usually reaching 31 years
- Atlantic white-sided dolphin usually reaching 27 years
- Muskox usually reaching 24 years
- California sea lion usually reaching 30 years
- Giant panda usually reaching 30 years
- Pagai Island macaque usually reaching 30 years
- Grey-cheeked mangabey usually reaching 32.67 years
- Potto usually reaching 26 years
Animals with the same number of babies South Asian river dolphin
The same number of babies at once (1) are born by:
- Pudú
- Sika deer
- Spectral bat
- Gray-backed sportive lemur
- Subantarctic fur seal
- Long-nosed mosaic-tailed rat
- Southwestern myotis
- Greater bamboo lemur
- Hoolock gibbon
- Preuss’s monkey
Weighting as much as South Asian river dolphin
A fully grown South Asian river dolphin reaches around 75.99 kg (167.54 lbs). So do these animals:
- Nyala weighting 87.31 kilos (192.49 lbs) on average
- South American fur seal weighting 68.14 kilos (150.22 lbs) on average
- Dama gazelle weighting 71.42 kilos (157.45 lbs) on average
- Chital weighting 69.5 kilos (153.22 lbs) on average
- Commerson’s dolphin weighting 72.4 kilos (159.61 lbs) on average
- Jaguar weighting 84.26 kilos (185.76 lbs) on average
- Javan rusa weighting 65.8 kilos (145.06 lbs) on average
- Baikal seal weighting 89.5 kilos (197.31 lbs) on average
- Puku weighting 71.23 kilos (157.04 lbs) on average
- Alpaca weighting 64.9 kilos (143.08 lbs) on average