Earlier we talked about Ambulocetus - an ancient ancestor of cetaceans with a very specific appearance. Well, you see, one of his descendants decided to follow in his footsteps. Meet the Ganges Dolphin, or Susuk, a living river dweller who evolved into a crocodile.
Before the shock content, information for general development. The body length of the animal is 2-2.5 meters, the weight is 70-90 kilos. Sexual dimorphism deprived males - they are smaller than female mums. The Ganges Dolphin (drum roll) lives in the Ganges River. It can also be found in the waters of the Brahmaputra and Indus.
These rivers are united by muddy water and slow current. Life in such conditions has notably spoiled the dolphin's eyesight. It is so bad that the lens of the eye says "adyos". Seriously, the small eyes of the susuk are only good for distinguishing between light and darkness. But mole rats see no reason to be sad (sorry for the pun). Instead of sight, echolocation came to the rescue. Our hero has pumped it so that by echolocation he is able to detect a wire with a diameter of 1 mm buried at the bottom.
But how much echolocation helps in finding the second half is unknown. Dolphin reproduction is poorly understood. It is only known that dolphin-crocodiles are born in winter and spring, having previously been marinated in the mother's belly for 10 months. A year later, the tight sera becomes independent of her mother, and at 10 she already reaches puberty.
And now about the main thing. If you haven't noticed yet, the crocodile dolphin's mouth is! Its beak is designed to kill. The jaws are 20 centimeters long and are studded with teeth so long that they are visible even when the dolphin's mouth is closed.
Such long and sharp teeth make it easy to hold the prey so that it does not escape anywhere. Therefore, one cannot hide from the crocodile dolphin and do not swim away. Crustaceans, fish and even turtles, all those who try to hide from the dolphin under the sand and in the mud, suffer a crushing fiasco, for which they pay with their lives.
Promotional video:
It is ironic that the main natural enemy of our hero, the gavial, has exactly the same long and terribly frightening jaws. These two live in the same river and occupy the same ecological niche. Therefore, when they meet, both try to quietly soak each other.
Unique original (skull of the Ganges dolphin).
A pitiful parody (gavial).
But the real danger to the dolphin is humans. Poisoned by chemicals, killed by fishermen, entangled in nets, collided with a boat - the polluted Ganges is teeming with dangers. Therefore, the dolphin's distribution area is decreasing, and the number is decreasing. The only ones who somehow favor animals are Hindu monks. They groom dolphins, cherish and even feed, because nibbles are considered inviolable. Oh how!
And the Ganges crocodile is mined for the sake of fat. Hindus use it as an aphrodisiac. It turns out that not only the Chinese are turned on this.
In general, if the Ganges dolphin reads us, we wish him not to eat chemicals, beware of fishing nets, love monks and be careful with crocodiles.