Species Fact Profile: Giant Pangasius Catfish (Pangasius santiwongsei)

                                                     Giant Pangasius Catfish

                                                Pangasius santiwongsei (Smith, 1931)

Range: Southeast Asia (Mekong and Chao Phraya Rivers)

Habitat:  Deep Freshwater Rivers Bottoms

Diet: Fish, Crustaceans, Carrion

Social Grouping: Solitary

Reproduction:  Spawn prior to the monsoon season (April and May).  Breed through external fertilization, with about 600 eggs released per spawning event.  No parental care provided

Lifespan: 20 Years

      Conservation Status: IUCN Critically Endangered

• Body length up to 3 meters (more commonly 2 meters) and weigh up to 300 kilograms.  Wide, flat head without whiskers (despite being a catfish).  Prominent curved dorsal fin, resulting in its trade nickname of "paroon shark" or "hi-fin shark"
• Dorsal surface is brownish-black, ventral surface is silver.  Fins are grey with black accents
• Migratory, moving upstream to spawn.  During periods of drought, use deep pools as refuges.  Appear to be two populations, separated by the Khone Falls, over which the species cannot migrate
• Significant population declines in recent years, brought about the overfishing and the construction of dams in their river systems, which disrupt migrations and limit habitat
• Some commercial rearing on fish farms, with some possible breeding success (may represent fish being bred in wild and eggs hatched in captivity).  Very small individuals are sometimes sold in the pet trade, with prospective buyers usually unaware of the maximum size of these fish.
• Specimens have been observed wild in South Africa and Turkey, likely representing released pets - not established in these countries