The largest freshwater fish ever recorded was captured in the Mekong River last week by a fisher collaborating with researchers to document the river’s biodiversity in northern Cambodia. The 4-meter (13-foot) endangered giant freshwater stingray (Urogymnus polylepis) was hauled from the river on June 13 before being measured and released back into the wild.
Tipping the scales at nearly 300 kilograms (661 pounds), the leviathan ray surpasses the previous record holder, a 293-kg (646-lb) Mekong giant catfish (Pangasianodon gigas) caught in Thailand in 2005.
Experts say the find emphasizes what’s at stake in the Mekong, a river that’s facing a slew of development threats, including major hydropower dams that have altered the river’s natural flow and exacerbated low river levels due to dry-season droughts in recent years.
