Indus Blind Dolphin Skull Replica measures 14.4 inches. Indus Blind Dolphin Skull is museum quality polyurethane cast. Made in USA. Cast of an original California Academy of Sciences specimen. 2-part skull (separate cranium and jaw). Known as Indus River Dolphin.
Indus Blind Dolphin also known as the Bhulan in Urdu and Sindhi, is a species of toothed whale in the family Platanistidae. It is endemic to the Indus River Basin of Pakistan and northwestern India.
It has been named as the national mammal of Pakistan, and the state aquatic animal of Punjab, India.
This dolphin was the first discovered side-swimming cetacean. It is patchily distributed in five small, sub-populations that are separated by irrigation barrages.
The Indus Blind Dolphin has the long, pointed nose characteristic of all river dolphins. The teeth are visible in both the upper and lower jaws even when the mouth is closed.
The teeth of young Indus Blind Dolphins are almost an inch long, thin and curved; however, as animals age the teeth undergo considerable changes and in mature adults become square, bony, flat disks. The snout thickens towards its end.
The species does not have a crystalline eye lens, rendering it effectively blind, although it may still be able to detect the intensity and direction of light. Navigation and hunting are carried out using echolocation.
The Indus Blind Dolphin body is a brownish color and stocky at the middle. The species has a small triangular lump in place of a dorsal fin.
The flippers and tail are thin and large in relation to the body size, which is about 2-2.2 meters in males and 2.4–2.6 meters in females.
Indus Blind Dolphin calves have been observed between January and May and do not appear to stay with the mother for more than a few months. Gestation is thought to be approximately 9–10 months.
The Indus River Dolphin has been very adversely affected by human use of the river systems in the subcontinent.
Entanglement in fishing nets can cause significant damage to local population numbers. Some individuals are still taken each year and their oil and meat used as a liniment, as an aphrodisiac and as bait for catfish.
