baiji; Chinese river dolphin; Yangtze dolphin
Refers to the freshwater dolphin Lipotes vexillifer, native to the Yangtze River; critically endangered and possibly extinct.
The baiji was a freshwater dolphin that lived in the Yangtze River.
General term for river dolphins; ヨウスコウカワイルカ specifically refers to the Yangtze species.
Standard katakana spelling for this species name.
Kanji spelling is rare and mainly found in older or formal texts; the word is usually written in kana.
From 揚子江 (Yōsukō, 'Yangtze River') + 河海豚 (kawairuka, 'river dolphin'). The katakana spelling is standard for species names.