Giant Freshwater Stingray

The Giant Freshwater Stingray (Urogymnus polylepis) is an endangered species and is close to going on the critical list. It was long described in the literature as Himantura chaophraya, and you'll still see that name in plenty of older sources, but taxonomists have since moved it into the genus Urogymnus — same fish, updated name. Not a great deal is known about its habits and life cycle in its native habitats. Its main threats come from destruction of its natural habitats and blocking of its breeding routes. Another big threat is from deforestation.

Although not a direct threat, the deforestation causes large amounts of silt to be deposited into the rivers where it is found . The silt then causes a decrease in water vegetation and therefore the life forms that inhabit it. Its really a big chain reaction and one small change in the ecosystem can have a drastic effect right through the whole system.

The Giant Freshwater Stingray can be found in the Chao Praya, Mae Klong and Bangpakong rivers. It is  arguably the Largest freshwater fish species in the world but at the moment recorded catches are quite few and documented captures with pictures are even less and as the Giant Mekong catfish is far better documented it is still classed as the Largest freshwater fish in the world.