Platanistidae

9.9

A group of river dolphins that live in South and Southeast Asian rivers

noun
/pləˌtænɪˈstɪdeɪ/

Specialized

: Platanistidae

The Platanistidae family consists of unique river dolphins that inhabit the freshwater rivers of South Asia.

Examples

The Platanistidae family includes the famous Ganges river dolphin.
Unlike oceanic dolphins, members of Platanistidae are adapted to murky freshwater environments.
Scientists study the habitat preferences of Platanistidae to develop better conservation strategies.
The family Platanistidae includes the endangered South Asian river dolphin.
Did you know that Platanistidae are known for their long snouts?
Researchers are conducting surveys to learn more about the Platanistidae and their ecological role in river systems.
Conservation efforts aim to protect the Platanistidae from threats such as habitat destruction and pollution.

Surface Forms

Platanistidae singular

Platanistidaes plural

Morphology

Platanistidae = Platanista (opaque) = Platanista + idae

The formation uses the specialized Latin taxonomic suffix '-idae' to denote a zoological family, which is systematic in biology but not transparent to average learners.

Etymology

Platanistidae comes from the scientific name Platanista, using the Greek root platy- which means 'broad' or 'flat' and appears in platypus. A helpful way to remember Platanistidae is to imagine a river dolphin with a broad, flat head made for shallow, muddy rivers, so the name fits this family of South and Southeast Asian river dolphins.