- Freshwater whipray
Taxobox
name = Freshwater whipray
image_caption =
status = VU | status_system = IUCN2.3
regnum =Animalia
phylum =Chordata
classis =Chondrichthyes
subclassis =Elasmobranchii
ordo =Rajiformes
familia =Dasyatidae
genus = "Himantura "
species = "H. chaophraya"
binomial = "Himantura chaophraya"
binomial_authority = Monkolprasit & Roberts, 1990The freshwater whipray, "Himantura chaophraya", is a very large freshwater
stingray of the familyDasyatidae , found in theMekong andChao Phraya river basins inSoutheast Asia , easternBorneo ,New Guinea and northernAustralia .Its maximum published weight is 600 kg and the body diameter can be up to 2.4 meters (total size including tail 5 meters). Growth rates are relatively unknown, as this species was only formally described in 1989. It appears to be slow growing, as population doubling time is greater than 14 years.
Its color varies with age, from chocolate-brown in young specimens, to a muddy coloration in older, larger fish.
The freshwater whipray is of little commercial value, except that its winglike fins are sometimes sold as sushi in
Japan . Locally, there are fisheries for it; the people ofCambodia catch this fish and boil its fins. There is a growing sport fishery for this species, as the IGFA record is 200 lbs.The freshwater whipray has the largest barb (stinger) of any stingray. It can be 15 inches long.
Reproduction is
ovoviviparous .References
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* [http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/07/photogalleries/giant-fishes/photo7.html Photo of the Giant freshwater stingray at National Geographic]
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