(ORDO NEWS) — In the northeastern part of Cambodia, fishermen took out a giant freshwater stingray from the Mekong River.
His weight was 180 kg. The stingray managed to be caught due to the fact that he swallowed the fish that the fishermen had previously caught.
The fishermen took out a huge stingray and immediately after that reported an incredible catch to specialists from the University of Nevada, in the USA. They are currently working in Cambodia and are studying the Mekong River.
This river giant belongs to the stingray species Urogymnus polylepis. It predominantly lives in the rivers of Indochina. Scientists estimated the weight and size of the stingray, and then returned it to its usual habitat again.
The results of the study showed that the weight of the freshwater stingray reaches 180 kg, the width is 1.9 meters, and the length is almost 4 meters.
It is worth noting that the tail of the creature is also included in the length, at the end of which there is a jagged process no more than 15 centimeters long.
Zeb Hogan of the University of Nevada noted that this type of stingray is considered the largest in the world. Some scientists even call it the largest freshwater “fish” on the planet.
Experts know too little about this species of rays, because they are almost never caught. Also, nothing can be said about the number of inhabitants of freshwater rivers.
There are suggestions that stingrays can grow even larger and the caught specimen is not the limit. For example, in Thailand in 2009, a stingray was caught, the weight of which was approximately 249-349 kilograms, but there was no official weighing at that time.
At the same time, experts consider the beluga the largest freshwater fish, which can grow up to 8 meters in length and weigh about 2 tons.
At the same time, the beluga cannot be called a completely freshwater fish. She lives most of the time in the seas, and in the rivers she can be seen only during spawning.
The Mekong River has all the conditions for such huge creatures to live in it. Today, the river has begun to suffer too much due to pollution and catching a lot of fish.
That is why the decision was made to put these giant freshwater stingrays on the list of those species that have begun to disappear.
—
Online:
Contact us: [email protected]
Our Standards, Terms of Use: Standard Terms And Conditions.