Pebanista yacuruna is a species of freshwater dolphin that has a giant body. This species is believed to have lived in proto-Amazonia during the Miosen period, around 16 million years ago in Peru. Over the centuries, the proto-Amazonia environment, where the pebanista yacuruna lives, has undergone various changes. How has the habitat of this giant freshwater dolphin changed over time? And what does the appearance of the pebanista yacuruna that inhabits the waters look like?

Pebanista yacuruna, also known as the ancient giant dolphin, has a body length of up to 2.8 to 3.5 meters, or equivalent to 9.2 to 11.5 feet. This makes it a species of odontoceti, which is a type of dolphin and the largest freshwater whale ever discovered. Pebanista yacuruna is also included in the Platanistoidea group, which is a group of dolphins commonly found in the oceans of the world between 16 and 24 million years ago.

According to research conducted by Dr. Aldo Benites-Palomino, a paleontologist at the University of Zurich, the proto-Amazon conditions in Peru sixteen million years ago were very different from what we know today. At that time, the water region had abundant resources to support its ecosystem. The majority of the Amazon plain was covered by large lakes and extensive swamps called Pebas.

The following is the translation of the Bahasa text to English while preserving any html tags: "The proto-Amazon landscape encompasses various ecosystems, including aquatic, semi-aquatic, and terrestrial ecosystems that span the region now known as Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru, and Brazil. However, when the Pebas system began to be replaced by the modern Amazon around ten million years ago, changes in habitat led to the loss of food sources for the Yacuruna Pebanista, which is a species of giant dolphin, resulting in its extinction."

Both species have a distinctive crest on their face, which is a special bone structure related to their echolocation ability, allowing them to see by emitting high-frequency sounds or listening to echoes, which is crucial in their hunting activities.