Which freshwater fish is the world’s largest living freshwater stingray species?

The giant freshwater stingray is the world’s largest living freshwater stingray species.

Its scientific name is Urogymnus polylepis. It inhabits large rivers and estuaries in Southeast Asia, including parts of the Mekong, Chao Phraya, and Mahakam systems. The species has a broad, flat body, a long whip-like tail, and a venomous spine near the tail base.

Exceptional individuals can reach several metres in total length and weigh hundreds of kilograms. Reports of the heaviest individuals vary because measuring a flexible ray and separating body mass from tail length is difficult. Even so, the species is consistently recognized as one of the largest freshwater fishes known.

The giant freshwater stingray is threatened by habitat alteration, pollution, fishing pressure, and river engineering. It is sometimes confused with marine stingrays that enter estuaries, but Urogymnus polylepis is adapted to spending much of its life in freshwater. Its conservation status reflects the vulnerability of large river animals with slow growth and low reproductive output.