Franciscana dolphin
Pontoporia blainvillei
A small, long-beaked dolphin of the shallow Atlantic coast, rarely seen and easily harmed. We watch from a respectful distance, and no sighting is ever a promise.
Vulnerable (IUCN, 2017) means it is at high risk of extinction in the wild, mainly because many are caught accidentally in fishing nets.
Length
Males up to about 1.6 m (5.2 ft); females up to about 1.8 m (5.9 ft). Newborns about 70 to 75 cm (28 to 30 in)
Weight
Up to about 50 kg (110 lb)
Next to a person
About as long as an adult is tall at most, and about as heavy as a small adult
What it eats
Mostly fish that live on or near the seabed, plus squid, octopus and shrimp. One source counts at least 24 fish species and another at least 76 prey types, about 83% of them fish. Diet varies from place to place.
Around people
Quiet, give space
How it lives
Females and males mature at about 2 to 3 years. Pregnancy lasts about 10 to 11 months, and a calf is weaned at about one year. Franciscanas live up to about 20 years. Along the Brazilian coast they are found mostly in water about 8 to 30 m deep.
Where it goes
Franciscanas live in shallow coastal water and estuaries from Brazil to northern Patagonia, mostly in water less than 50 m deep. Genetic work shows separate groups along the coast, so dolphins in one area may not mix with those far away.
We only draw a journey on the map when scientists have tracked it or clearly documented it. For this animal we have not found one yet.
Populations
IUCN global status: Vulnerable (2017), with a decreasing trend overall. Brazil lists it as Critically Endangered nationally. The range runs from Itaunas in Espirito Santo, Brazil, to Chubut province in Argentina, and is split into management areas. The northernmost group in Espirito Santo is isolated and the smallest, and genetic tests found only one variant in 14 samples. No single reliable global count was found in the sources read. Gillnet bycatch is the main threat, and where it has been measured it is unsustainable. In Guanabara Bay, about 90% of the group was lost in three decades.
Meet it respectfully
Franciscanas are small and hard to see, so do not count on meeting one. If you do see one, keep the boat slow and the distance wide. Never chase it, steer toward it, swim with it or try to touch or feed it. If you find a stranded or entangled animal, do not handle it and call the local marine mammal rescue or authorities. I did not read a local viewing rule for this species, so follow your guide.
Fun fact
Tap the bulb to light it up.
The franciscana has the longest beak for its body size of any living dolphin or whale, up to about 15% of body length in older adults.
Although it is often called a river dolphin, it lives in salty estuaries and coastal sea rather than freshwater rivers.
A newborn calf is about 70 to 75 cm long.
Franciscana dolphin in the Ocean Atlas
Places we have researched where this animal is recorded. It is never guaranteed, and some places are for watching from the boat only.
Travel with usComing soonTrusted referralExploringOn pause, story onlyEthics pass
Country colour: pink where we travel, blue where we are exploring or refer, grey for story only.
Argentina
Brazil
UruguaySources for this page
- Wikipedia, La Plata dolphin
- National Marine Mammal Foundation, Franciscana dolphin
- Frontiers in Marine Science, 2020
- Cunha et al., 2014, PLOS ONE
- IMMA, Coastal Waters of Santa Catarina, Parana and Sao Paulo
Facts checked 5 October 2026. Photos: Unsplash licence, or Creative Commons as shown on each photo.
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