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 Act of 1969 passed prior to the 1969 act, and set up a list of species native to the United States that qualified as endangered. The animals on this list were then afforded certain protections from the National Wildlife Refuge System. For example, the Endangered Species Preservation Act was in part dedicated to raising awareness of endangered species of birds like the peregrine falcon, and to "conserve, protect, restore, and propagate certain species of native fish and wildlife". Despite these protections, however, researchers found that the act was insufficient. This led to the passage of the Endangered Species Conservation Act of 1969. The