BAIJI




SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION
COMMON NAME: baiji, Yangtze river dolphin
KINGDOM: Animalia
PHYLUM: Chordata
CLASS: Mammalia
ORDER: Cetacea
SUBORDER: Odontoceti
FAMILY: Platanistidae
GENUS SPECIES: Lipotes vexillifer

FAST FACTS
DESCRIPTION: Baijis have a fusiform body with a small head, tiny eyes, prominent melon and a long, narrow beak that is slightly up-curved at the tip. The dorsal fin of the baiji is low and triangular and the flippers are broad and rounded. The dorsal portion of the body is gray with whitish streaks from the ventral area extending into the face and head region.
FEMALE Females are slightly larger than males
SIZE:
MALE To 2.29 m (7 ft 6 in)
FEMALE To 2.53 m (8 ft 4 in)
WEIGHT:
MALE 130 kg (290 lb)
FEMALE 170 kg (370 lb)
DIET: Small fish
GESTATION: Very little is known about reproduction, but gestation probably lasts 10-11 months
SEXUAL MATURITY: Unknown
LIFE SPAN: Unknown
RANGE: China's Yangtze River
HABITAT: Freshwater
POPULATION: GLOBAL Probably in the 10's or even less than 10; baijis are the world's most endangered cetacean
STATUS: IUCN Critically Endangered
CITES Appendix I
USFWS Endangered

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