The smaller freshwater whipray of New Guinea and northern Australia was once considered to be conspecific with the giant freshwater stingray but is now recognised as a separate species. Its numbers are dwindling due to overfishing and habitat loss, and it is in danger of extinction. It is one of the largest freshwater fishes in the world, with reports from the Chao Phraya and Mekong Rivers of individuals weighing 500 to 600 kilograms (1,100 to 1,300 pounds). The giant freshwater stingray is a species of stingray native to large rivers and estuaries of Southeast Asia. See Separate Article MEKONG GIANT CATFISH Giant Freshwater Stingrays But the species is migratory, so a regional agreement may be necessary to prevent its demise. In recent years, Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand have outlawed catching the giant catfish. Today, the giant catfish is critically endangered, its range is greatly restricted, and the average size of individuals is declining. Overfishing is the main cause of the decline, but habitat fragmentation and alteration of spawning grounds by dams and navigation projects also contribute. In the mid-twentieth century, hundreds of giant catfish-a naturally rare species-were caught each year, but recently the annual catch has declined to fewer than ten. With such grand proportions, a jackpot of succulent flesh that once sold at a premium to urban restaurants, the giant catfish was a fisherman’s prize catch. Camhi wrote in Natural History magazine, The Mekong giant catfish, is just one of the region’s struggling, overfished residents. Dams and human encroachment, however, have severely disrupted their lifecycle. They are thought to rear primarily in Cambodia’s Tonle Sap lake and migrate hundreds of miles north to spawning grounds in Thailand. “Highly migratory creatures, giant catfish require large stretches of river for their seasonal journeys and specific environmental conditions in their spawning and breeding areas. Average life span in the wild: More than 60 years. Juveniles wear the characteristic catfish “whiskers,” called barbels, but these features shrink as they age. They are toothless herbivores who live off the plants and algae in the river. Reaching three meters (10 feet) in length and weighing almost 650 pounds (295 kilograms), its lives mainly in the lower half of the Mekong River system, in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam.Īccording to National Geographic: Mekong giant catfish have very low-set eyes and are silvery to dark gray on top and whitish to yellow on the bottom. The Mekong giant catfish (Pangasianodon gigas) it is the world’s largest catfish fish and a candidate for the world’s largest freshwater fish. If the blast doesn't knock them down outright the weight of the water is often enough to force them into the water. Crickets and ants, common victims, are often blasted off their perch into the water where they are gobbled up by the fish. Channeled by a groove between the fish's tongue and the roof of its mouth the water is propelled by the contraction of its gills. Even so it gets its prey a high percentage of the time.Īrcherfish in Java have been observed shooting a stream of water 10½ feet. It may fire two or three times before getting the range right. The fish shoots the water by pressing its against a long grove that runs along the roof of its mouth and jerks its gill covers together, forcing a stream of water out like water in a water pistol. The shoot jets of water droplets at their prey, knocking it of their leave, branch or grass perches into the water where they are eaten. When it takes aim at an insect it compensates for the way light bends when it passes from the air through the water.Īrcherfish have an upward-pointing mouth. They are one of the few species of fish that is proficient at looking above the surface of water. They have large eyes and excellent eyesight. Archerfish reach lengths of 20 centimeters. Some have been observed knocking down insects four feet away. Once, $175,000 was paid for an albino arowana fish, believed in Asia to bring good luck.Īrcher fish of the Indo-Austroasiatic region shoot jets of water to capture prey. Some people install fish tanks filled with expensive “fengu shui fish” such as arowana or “red dragon” fish can help escape disasters and get rich. Goby fish, found in tropical waters, have a gills and a breathing system that allows them o draw air form the air and the water.
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