Pebanista fossil map
Where fossils of Pebanista have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 15 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 15 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Early mammals |
|---|---|
| Lived | 20.45–11.63 million years ago (Burdigalian to Serravallian) |
| Periods | Neogene |
| Family | Platanistidae |
| Named by | Benites-Palomino et al. 2024 |
| Fossil records | 4 occurrences at 2 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | Peru |
| Rock formations | Pebas, Ipururo |
About Pebanista
Pebanista is an extinct genus of platanistid "river dolphin" that lived during the Early to Middle Miocene in Peru. As a member of the Platanistidae, Pebanista is most closely related to the extant Ganges and Indus river dolphins (Platanista) of South Asia and shares no close relation to the modern Amazon river dolphin (Inia geoffrensis) that inhabits the same region today. Like its close relatives, Pebanista possesses enlarged crests that would have covered the melon in life, possibly helping to focus their biosonar while hunting in murky waters. Pebanista further stands out as being the largest "river dolphin" yet discovered, reaching lengths between 2.8–3.47 m (9 ft 2 in – 11 ft 5 in) at minimum, much larger than the biggest recorded freshwater cetaceans of today. Given its relatively robust if elongated snout, it is thought that Pebanista was an active predator, profiting from the rich prey selection available to it in the enormous Pebas wetlands that covered South America during the early parts of the Miocene. Only a single species of Pebanista is known so far: P. yacuruna.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Pebanista (revision 1322059794), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 23 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q125026545.
