Lipids of freshwater Dolphin Sotalia fluviatilis: comparison of odontocete bioacoustic lipids and habitat.

The melon and jaw lipids of the freshwater dolphin Sotalia fluviatilis are composed mainly of isovaleroyl wax esters and diisovaleroyl triglycerides. The blubber fat contains only a trace of wax ester and is mostly tri-(long chain) and monoisovaleroyl triglycerides. Detailed gas liquid chromatographic analyses of the intact wax esters and triglycerides and of the derived fatty acids and fatty alcohols indicate common compositional patterns in the wax esters and triglycerides of the respective head lipids. Both odd and even long chain (C12-C16) isostructures are prominent in the melon and jaw lipids, but only higher odd chain length iso-acids are major components in the blubber. Sotalia fluviatilis (family Delphinidae) and Inia geoffrensis (family Platanistidae) share the same freshwater habitat in the upper Amazon River, and both utilize echolocation to navigate and to find food. Comparison of their respective bioacoustical lipid compositions show distinctive types of head fats, Sotalia being rich in iso-5:0 and Inia lacking iso-5:0. This indicates that iso-valeric acid per se has no obligatory role in dolphin echolocation.