I was really confused by what exactly a pink dolphin was for a long time, because when you search for images you’ll get pictures of what basically looks like a bottlenose dolphin but pink, mixed in with pictures of this bulbous, toothy, beady-eyed imitation of a dolphin (I think river dolphins are cute in their own way but i must admit they do look really weird)
Turns out there’s two very different kinds of pink dolphins which are constantly called the wrong name online. The dolphin on the left is a boto, or amazon river dolphin, and the one on the right is an indo-pacific humpback dolphin. The humpback dolphin is a lighter pink than the boto, that is if it’s pink at all—they often have gray splotches, and older individuals can be completely white. The boto also often have grey coloration which is lost with age, particularly in males which can be entirely bright pink. In both species, the pink coloration is caused by blood showing through the surface of the skin rather than actual pigmentation.