family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
of
river dolphin
River dolphins are a polyphyletic group of fully aquatic mammals that reside exclusively in freshwater or brackish water. They are an informal grouping of dolphins, which itself is a paraphyletic group within the infraorder Cetacea. Extant riv ...
s containing the possibly extinct baiji of China and the fossil genus ''
Parapontoporia
''Parapontoporia'' is an extinct genus of dolphin that lived off the Californian coast from the Late Miocene until the genus' extinction during the Pliocene. It is related to the baiji
The baiji (; IPA: ; ''Lipotes vexillifer'', ''Lipotes'' ...
'' from the Late
Miocene
The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...
and
Pliocene
The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58Prolipotes'', which is based on a mandible fragment from Neogene coastal deposits in Guangxi, China, has been classified as an extinct relative of the baiji, but is dubious.
The putative kentriodontid '' "Lophocetus" pappus'' is a possible relative of Lipotidae.Olivier Lambert, Giovanni Bianucci, Mario Urbina, Jonathan H. Geisler; A new inioid (Cetacea, Odontoceti, Delphinida) from the Miocene of Peru and the origin of modern dolphin and porpoise families. Zool J Linn Soc 2017; 179 (4): 919-946. doi: 10.1111/zoj.12479. https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article/179/4/919/3076080/A-new-inioid-Cetacea-Odontoceti-Delphinida-from?guestAccessKey=3b956b95-d215-488a-8d90-1cff59554290#63703008
Lipotes vexillifer
The baiji (; IPA: ; ''Lipotes vexillifer'', ''Lipotes'' meaning "left behind" and ''vexillifer'' "flag bearer") is a possibly extinct species of freshwater dolphin native to the Yangtze river system in China. It is thought to be the first dolph ...
''
* ''
Parapontoporia
''Parapontoporia'' is an extinct genus of dolphin that lived off the Californian coast from the Late Miocene until the genus' extinction during the Pliocene. It is related to the baiji
The baiji (; IPA: ; ''Lipotes vexillifer'', ''Lipotes'' ...