Mekong giant catfish

Mekong giant catfish
At the Gifu World Freshwater Aquarium
CITES Appendix I
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Siluriformes
Family: Pangasiidae
Genus: Pangasianodon
Species:
P. gigas
Binomial name
Pangasianodon gigas
Chevey, 1931
Synonyms
  • Pangasius gigas (Chevey, 1931)
  • Pangasius paucidens Fang & Chaux, 1949

The Mekong giant catfish (Pangasianodon gigas; Thai: ปลาบึก, RTGSpla buek, pronounced [plāː bɯ̀k]; Khmer: ត្រីរាជ /trəy riec/; Vietnamese: cá tra dầu) is a large species of catfish (order Siluriformes) in the shark catfish family (Pangasiidae), native to the Mekong basin in Southeast Asia and adjacent China. It is considered critically endangered due to overfishing and habitat loss.