South Asian river dolphin display the variances needed to support their classification as separate species. Thus, at present, a single species with two subspecies is recognized in the genus "Platanista", "P. g. gangetica" (Ganges river dolphin) and "P. g. minor" (Indus river dolphin). An assessment of divergence rates in mitochondrial DNA of the two subspecies indicates that they diverged from a common ancestor around 550,000 years ago. This ancestor is thought to have been a marine Platanistid inhabiting the epi-continental seas in South Asia during the sea level rises in the middle Miocene. The earliest fossil identified as belonging to the species is only
Endangered species Plans that will protect endangered and other threatened species. In the United States, such plans are usually called Species Recovery Plans. Though labelled a list, the IUCN Red List is a system of assessing the global conservation status of species that includes "Data Deficient" (DD) species – species for which more data and assessment is required before their status may be determined – as well species comprehensively assessed by the IUCN's species assessment process. Those species of "Near Threatened" (NT) and "Least Concern" (LC) status have been assessed and found to have relatively robust and healthy populations, though these may