Ganges shark

Ganges shark
Temporal range: Miocene-recent[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Subclass: Elasmobranchii
Order: Carcharhiniformes
Family: Carcharhinidae
Genus: Glyphis
Species:
G. gangeticus
Binomial name
Glyphis gangeticus
Glyphis gangeticus inhabits the Ganges-Hooghly River system
Synonyms
  • Carcharhinus gangeticus (Müller & Henle, 1839)
  • Carcharias gangeticus (Müller & Henle, 1839)
  • Carcharias murrayi (Günther, 1883)
  • Eulamia gangetica (Müller & Henle, 1839)
  • Platypodon gangeticus (Müller & Henle, 1839)
  • Carcharias siamensis (Steindachner, 1896)
  • Glyphis siamensis (Steindachner, 1896)
  • Glyphis fowlerae (Compagno, W. T. White & Cavanagh, 2010)

The Ganges shark (Glyphis gangeticus) is a critically endangered species of requiem shark found in the Ganges River (Padma River) and the Brahmaputra River of India and Bangladesh. It is often confused with the more common bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas), which also inhabits the Ganges River and is sometimes incorrectly referred to as the Ganges shark.[3] The genus is currently considered to contain three recent species; genetic evidence has shown that both the Borneo river shark (G. fowlerae) and Irrawaddy river shark (G. siamensis) should be regarded as synonyms of the Ganges shark, expanding the range of the species to Pakistan, Myanmar, Borneo, and Java. While the other members of the genus Glyphis occur in coastal marine waters as well as rivers, the Ganges shark is found only in fresh water, making it the world's only exclusively freshwater shark. The species remains poorly known and very rare.

  1. ^ P. E. P, Deraniyagala (1969). "A Miocene vertebrate faunule from the Malu member of Ceylon". Spolia Zeylanica.
  2. ^ Rigby, C.L.; Derrick, D.; Dulvy, N.K.; Grant, I; Jabado, R.W. (2021). "Glyphis gangeticus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2021: e.T169473392A124398647. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-2.RLTS.T169473392A124398647.en. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  3. ^ Compagno, L. J. V. (1997). "Threatened fishes of the world: Glyphis gangeticus (Muller & Henle, 1839) (Carcharnidae)". Environmental Biology of Fishes. 49 (4): 400. Bibcode:1997EnvBF..49..400C. doi:10.1023/a:1007358922066. S2CID 35379347.