During its 2008 Annual Meeting in Santiago, Chile, as proposed by Flores et al. (2008),[3] the Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) endorsed "Guiana dolphin" as the common English name for (Sotalia guianensis) in its IWC List of Recognized Cetacean Species (LRCS).

Following this endorsement, Flores and colleagues also made the case for the adoption of the English name in the Latin American Journal of Aquatic Mammals.

The Guiana dolphin is very similar in appearance to the closely related Tucuxi (Sotalia fluviatilis) with most differences only apparent in skull shape and body size.

[11] The Guiana dolphin is found close to estuaries, inlets and other protected shallow-water areas around the eastern and northern South American coast.

Guiana dolphins feed mainly on a wide variety of bony fish and occasionally on shrimps, cephalopods, and crabs.

[18] The Guiana dolphin is listed on Appendix II[19] of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS).

It is listed on Appendix II[19] as it has an unfavourable conservation status or would benefit significantly from international co-operation organised by tailored agreements.

There is very limited gene flow between concentrations of this dolphin, and large stretches of coast contain no animals at all, so recovery from depletion of a local population may take time.

[20] The bays around Rio de Janeiro are known to be polluted with industrial waste and sewage, a possible cause of this population's decline.