Giant+Mekong+Catfish

=Giant Mekong Catfish=

Species Name: //Pangasianodon gigas// __**Class:**__ Actinopterygii __**Phylum:**__ Chordata __**Kingdom:**__ Animalia (Natives catching giant catfish to feed village) (Giant catfish being caught and released by sport fishermen)
 * __Genus:__** Pangasianodon __**Family:**__ Pangasiidae __**Order:**__ Siluriformes

==**Ecology** == The Mekong catfish eats terrestrial plants,Benthic algae and Weeds, and insects. It rarely feeds on other fish. Ithings that eat it are other fish species when it is small and people when it gets big. This fish is one big consumer, its a Herbivore with ocational bugs. A parasite of the mekong catfish is the candiru, the toothpick fish. The giant mekong catfish lives in the verry poluted mekong river.Iits favorite spots are deep muddy cravases in the botom of the river. It feeds on the vegitation and small insects that are at the bottom of the river. The river is warm most parts of the year making feeding and growth in this biom easy to make maximum size fish.


 * Physiology**

The Mekong catfish Is in the ray-finned fish catagory because of its musculat bony fins. It has a wide, flat, blunt head witch unlike most catfish have no wiskers. It is a fat fish because it dosent need to chase its meals, being a herbavor. Since no energy is spent hunting it keeps gaining weight and can reach a max of 646lbs. and six and a half foot long, making it the largest freshwater fish. This fish reproduce sexually. like most fish the mekong will lay its eggs and the male will come and give his sperm. These giant fish start as tiny eggs and grow and grow and grow to enormous size and then die.


 * Endangered**

Due to the terrible water condition of the mekong river these catfish are dieing off and becoming extinct. The World concervation Union are trying to help these giants but fear they mey be going extinct in the wild. Experts think ther can be as few as a few hundred adult size mekong catfish left in the wild. The animals worse criticly endangered are already extinct. These fish are over harvested, their spawning grounds are being cut off by dams and the degradation of the water are all factors contributing to the los of these amazing fish.


 * Citations**

[|**http://adventure.howstuffworks.com/outdoor-activities/fishing/fish-conservation/fish-populations/big-catfish2.htm**]

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