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Urogymnus polylepis (Bleeker, 1852)

Giant freshwater whipray
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Urogymnus polylepis
Picture by Jean-Francois Helias / Fishing Adventures Thailand

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays) > Myliobatiformes (Stingrays) > Dasyatidae (Stingrays) > Urogymninae
Etymology: Urogymnus: Greek, oura = tail + Greek, gymnos = naked (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Bleeker.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Freshwater; brackish; demersal; potamodromous (Ref. 51243). Tropical; 25°N - 20°S

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Asia and Oceania: Mekong and Chao Phraya basins; also from eastern Borneo, New Guinea and northern Australia.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?, range 110 - ? cm
Max length : 240 cm WD male/unsexed; (Ref. 27732); max. published weight: 600.0 kg (Ref. 6871)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0. Absence of ventral and dorsal skin folds on the tail, and the broad greyish to blackish marginal band on the ventral surface of the disc. The dorsal surface of the disc is brown (Ref. 27732). Spiral valve with 21 turns; dorsal surface with uniform brown or grey coloration (Ref. 12693). Lacking caudal fin; with long whip-like tail (Ref. 43281).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Inhabits sandy bottoms in estuaries and large rivers (Ref. 12693). Feeds on benthic invertebrates (Ref. 12693) and fishes (Ref. 32457). Ovoviviparous (Ref. 50449). Caught occasionally by demersal gillnet and longline fisheries operating in riverine and estuarine areas. Utilized for its meat and possibly its cartilage (Ref.58048). Marketed fresh, with large individuals being sold in cut pieces by the kilogram (Ref. 12693). Size reaches to about 500 cm TL. Threatened due to over harvesting and pollution (Ref. 58490).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae

Exhibit ovoviparity (aplacental viviparity), with embryos feeding initially on yolk, then receiving additional nourishment from the mother by indirect absorption of uterine fluid enriched with mucus, fat or protein through specialised structures (Ref. 50449). Distinct pairing with embrace (Ref. 205). Young are born at about 30 cm disc width (Ref. 6871).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : McEachran, John | Collaborators

Rainboth, W.J., 1996. Fishes of the Cambodian Mekong. FAO species identification field guide for fishery purposes. FAO, Rome, 265 p. (Ref. 12693)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Endangered (EN) (A2bcd); Date assessed: 25 January 2021

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Venomous





Human uses

Fisheries: minor commercial; aquaculture: experimental; aquarium: potential
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items
Diet compositions
Food consumptions
Food rations
Predators
Ecology
Ecology
Population dynamics
Growths
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversions
Recruitments
Abundances
Life cycle
Reproduction
Maturities
Fecundities
Spawnings
Spawning aggregations
Egg(s)
Egg developments
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Distribution
Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
BRUVS - Videos
Anatomy
Gill areas
Brains
Otoliths
Physiology
Body compositions
Nutrients
Oxygen consumptions
Swimming type
Swimming speeds
Visual pigment(s)
Fish sounds
Diseases / Parasites
Toxicities (LC50s)
Genetics
Genetics
Electrophoreses
Heritabilities
Human related
Aquaculture systems
Aquaculture profiles
Strains
Ciguatera cases
Stamps, coins, misc.
Outreach
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References
References

Tools

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Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5156   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00832 (0.00366 - 0.01891), b=3.10 (2.90 - 3.30), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this (Sub)family-body shape (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.5   ±0.37 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Very Low, minimum population doubling time more than 14 years (Assuming Fec<10).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Very high vulnerability (90 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Low.