Irrawaddy river shark
| Irrawaddy river shark | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Chondrichthyes |
| Subclass: | Elasmobranchii |
| Superorder: | Selachimorpha |
| Order: | Carcharhiniformes |
| Family: | Carcharhinidae |
| Genus: | Glyphis |
| Species: | G. siamensis |
| Binomial name | |
|
Glyphis siamensis (Steindachner, 1896) |
|
 |
|
| Occurrences of the Irrawaddy river shark | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Carcharias siamensis Steindachner, 1896 |
|
Carcharias siamensis Steindachner, 1896
Glyphis siamensis (Irrawaddy river shark) is a species of requiem shark, belonging to the family Carcharhinidae, known only from a single museum specimen originally caught at the mouth of the Irrawaddy River in Myanmar. A plain gray, thick-bodied shark with a short rounded snout, tiny eyes, and broad first dorsal fin, the Irrawaddy river shark is difficult to distinguish from other members of its genus without anatomical examination. Virtually nothing is known of its natural history; it is thought to be a fish-eater with a viviparous mode of reproduction. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has assessed this species as Critically Endangered, as its distribution is extremely limited and suffers heavy fishing pressure and habitat degradation.
Genetic evidence has shown that both the Borneo river shark (G. fowlerae) and Irrawaddy river shark should be regarded as synonyms of the Ganges shark (G. gangeticus).
The only known specimen was collected in the 19th century and described as Carcharias siamensis by Austrian ichthyologist Franz Steindachner, in Annalen des Naturhistorischen Museums in Wien (volume 11, 1896). However, subsequent authors doubted the validity of this species, regarding it as an abnormal bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas), until in 2005 shark systematist Leonard Compagno recognized it as distinct member of the genus Glyphis.
...
Wikipedia