Ganges Indian narrow-headed softshell turtle ("Chitra indica"), Indian softshell turtle ("Nilssonia gangetica"), Indian peacock softshell turtle ("N. hurum") and Cantor's giant softshell turtle ("Pelochelys cantorii"; only in the lowermost section of Ganges basin). Most of these are seriously threatened. The river's most famed fauna is the freshwater Ganges river dolphin ("Platanista gangetica gangetica"), which has been declared India's national aquatic animal. This dolphin used to exist in large schools near to urban centres in both the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers, but is now seriously threatened by pollution and dam construction. Their numbers have now dwindled to a quarter of their numbers
Endangered Species Act of 1973 birds, 6 reptiles and amphibians and 22 fish. This first list is referred to as the "Class of '67" in "The Endangered Species Act at Thirty", Volume 1, which concludes that habitat destruction, the biggest threat to those 78 species, is still the same threat to the currently listed species. It included only vertebrates because the Department of Interior's definition of "fish and wildlife" was limited to vertebrates. However, with time, researchers noticed that the animals on the endangered species list still were not getting enough protection, thus further threatening their extinction. The endangered species program was expanded by the