Rare Australian Freshwater Sharks & Rays

Few people are aware that Australia has species of shark and ray that live in freshwater. Only in recent times has the Australian Freshwater Whiptail ray been recognized as a separate species to its Asian counterpart. These rays can grow to several meters across the disc and weigh several hundreds of kilograms. They are true monster fish and very little is known about them! The Speartooth Shark (Glyphis glyphis) is abundant in only localised and isolated regions and is subsequently considered Critically Endangered. The sharks in this clip were collected by the team at Cairns Marine, under special permit, for a strategic breeding program at the Melbourne Aquarium. As the only representatives of their species in captivity anywhere in the world, this is a vital step towards their long term species conservation.

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• Shark
• rare
• endangered
• Marine
• Aquarium
• speartooth
• spear
• tooth
• glyphis
• ray
• himantura
• dalyensis
• chaophraya
• whipray
• whiptail
• monster
• fish
• cairns
• Australia
• wholesale
• freshwater
• sea
• public
• hand
• caught
• collector
• temporary
• facility
• holding
• acclimation
• breeding
• program
• commercial
• catch
• catching
• display
• great
• barrier
• collection
• sustainable
• zoo
• supply
• elasmobranch
• net
• research
• education
• conservation
• provision
• ocean
• saltwater
• collect
• operation
• fresh
• water
• euryhaline
• yt:quality=high
• yt:stretch=16:9

[bestsalt]

I think shark is Glyphis glyphis the real freshwater shark

and ray is Himantura chaophraya confirm !

[cairnsmarine]

@bestsalt Sorry for the delay.....the sharks are Glyphis glyphis and the ray is Himantura dalyensis (recently described, previously thought to be H. chaophraya). H. Dalyensis is endemic to Australia and looks very similar to chaphraya.

[CactusJackPR]

what type of species of fresh water shark and ray they are???

[cairnsmarine]

@CactusJackPR if you click on the drop down arrow where the brief info is described, the following passage details species and som einfo about them. The sharks are Glyphis glyphis (Speartooth Shark) and Himantura dalyensis (Freshwater Whiptail ray). Thanks for asking, hope you enjoyed seeing a very rare and special couple of animals!

[PraetorianMan]

Three Cheers! The River Sharks have FINALLY Made it into captivity! I thought I'd never live to see footage of a live one!

[cairnsmarine]

@PraetorianMan Thanks for the appreciation, it is indeed a great moment to be able to bring these incredible creatures to the world! Let's just hope the guys at Melbourne Aquarium are successful in the next exciting phase......breeding!

[Syredisa057]

aaaaarrreee yoouuu suree this is a freshwater! ? :O!

'!

[Kareyspins]

H. Dalyensis is also kept in captivity in Baltimore MD, and has been there since 2005. although they were not recognized as a separate species until later

[customlegokarl]

@CactusJackPR ther are tones of fresh water rays witch you can keep att home if you wat i will be buying one soon

[vhfanjack]

What did you end up doing with the ray?