According to the BBC, Cambodian villagers have caught a 300-kilogram stingray in the Mekong River, which has attracted widespread attention, and it is rare to have 300 kilograms of freshwater fish in freshwater waters, and it has set a new record.
It is reported that in June 2022, fishermen caught a 4-meter-long, 2.2-meter-wide stingray weighing 300 kilograms in cambodia's Mekong River. The researchers said: This is the largest surviving freshwater fish in the world.
According to the researchers, the fish is a female, and after being electronically marked, it has returned to the river, and scientists can track its trajectory through motor markers and grasp the life trajectory of stingrays.
300 kg! How exactly does the giant stingray protect itself?
The 4,909-kilometer Mekong River flows through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam and eventually into the South China Sea, originating on the mainland's Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, with the Lancang River in the upper reaches and the Mekong River in the lower reaches.
It is understood that the Mekong River is the third most diverse river in the world. Giant fish, giant stingrays, giant catfish and giant Siamese carp live in the gentle lower Mekong river basin.
The 300 kg giant stingray caught this time has a round body, and its tail is about twice as long as the body of the disc, just like the common fan in summer, but its tail is too long.
What is the food of giant stingrays? Stingrays, as large freshwater fish in the Mekong River Basin, due to their large size, their food demand is very high, such as: small fish and crustaceans, molluscs are stingray food.
Because stingrays are very different from common fish, their bodies are very flat, and their flat abdomen is like radar, which can detect the electric field in the water, lock the specific location of small fish and shrimp, and carry out hunting tasks.
However, because the number of fish in the Mekong River is very large, there are some more ferocious fish, the most ferocious fish in the NameGong, and the locals call it "Genghis Khan", so how can stingrays protect themselves from threats?
Stingrays usually have two ways to protect themselves, the first is to bury themselves, because of their large size, but their bodies are very flat, underwater, stingrays can bury themselves through the underwater sand, even if humans want to get it out of the dirt will be very difficult.
The second method is stinger resistance, the stinger's deadliest attack, which has a jagged spine on the stingray's tail that is covered with poisonous mucus. This stinger is very hard and can penetrate the enemy's body and give him a fatal blow.
Though. Giant stingrays have lethal weapons, but they are relatively docile and do not actively attack humans, but stingrays can grow so large that they must have their own survival skills.
Why is the poisonous giant stingray endangered?
Giant stingray as one of the existing giant fish in the Mekong, stingray tail has sharp stingers, once stepped on or disturbed, they will launch stingers, venom will immediately follow the tip of the spine into the human body, light wound pain, heavy may lead to death. But why is this species currently endangered?
It is mainly due to the fact that stingrays have very high economic value and edible value, their flesh is tender and rich in gum, and the stinger venom in the tail can also be medicated, resulting in a large number of stingrays in the Mekong River being overfished and their habitat destroyed.
And with the warming of the climate, there is a risk of extinction of a large number of stingrays, and according to wildlife conservation statistics, 107 species of stingrays have been listed as endangered.
Stingrays are known to exist in most marine ecosystems around the world, and they play an integral role in maintaining the health of ecosystems. Therefore, we should protect stingrays from being harmed on a large scale and causing population extinction.
In short, stingrays set a new record for the "largest" freshwater fish caught by humans, which is of great significance for human research on freshwater fish in the Mekong River. To borrow a phrase from the research team, "The fact that these fish can grow so big is a promising sign for the Mekong River".