Interestingly the most notable and frequent sounds were emitted when calves were present shedding light on a close and complex mother child relationship.

The findings show that the acoustic sounds of river dolphins are incredibly complex and are similar to those of by social delphinids, such as orcas and pilot whales.

[9] This species is most closely related to the Amazon river dolphin (Inia geoffrensis), from which it is believed to have split about 2.08 million years (Ma) ago, on the basis of mitochondrial DNA sequence comparisons.

[4] The ecology of its habitat has been adversely affected by agricultural, ranching and industrial activities, as well as by the use of dams for hydroelectric power.

[4] The largest number of individuals of the new species is likely to occur in and around Cantão State Park, which contains most of the lakes in the Araguaia basin.

Shooting is common, but around protected areas like Cantão, where the sound of a gun might attract park rangers, some fishermen have taken to putting out poisoned bait for dolphins.

The southernmost population of the species is a small group of isolated individuals in the Tocantins river above the Serra da Mesa dam.