Amazon river dolphin is already a rare species and a team of researchers from the Federal University of Amazonas, Brazil, has discovered a new species of Amazon river dolphin.

It has happened for the first time in nearly 100 years that a new species of dolphin has been found. The new river dolphin species has been named as Araguaian boto.

When the researchers saw the species, they did not think that it was entirely a new species. But after carrying out analysis and DNA testing, it was confirmed that it is actually a species, which was considered to have gone extinct.
After carrying out the assessment, the researchers found that the Araguaian boto is morphologically and genetically different from other river dolphin species.

"We looked at the mitochondrial DNA which is essentially looking at the lineages, and there is no sharing of lineages", said lead author Tomas Hrbek.

Majority of the species live in fresh water rivers and the La Plata Dolphin survives in saltwater estuaries. In total, there are five river dolphin species that inhabit either in Asia or South America.

Lead author Tomas Hrbek said that majority of the river dolphins grow around eight feet long and are found in different colors like pink, white and yellow. But this species was smaller and also differed genetically.