The Giant Mekong Catfish (Pangasius gigas (Chevey 1931), formerly Pangasianodon, also known as Pangasius paucidens (Fang & Chaux 1949)) is one of the largest (by weight) freshwater fish in the world. It is endemic to the Lao stretch of the Mekong river, where it is in danger of extinction due to overfishing as well as the decrease of water quality due to development and upstream damming. The current IUCN redlist for fishes classes the species as Critically Endangered. Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Phyla Porifera (sponges) Ctenophora (comb jellies) Cnidaria (coral, jellyfish, anenomes) Placozoa (trichoplax) Subregnum Bilateria (bilateral symmetry) Acoelomorpha (basal) Orthonectida (flatworms, echinoderms, etc. ... Typical Classes Subphylum Urochordata - Tunicatas Ascidiacea Thaliacea Larvacea Subphylum Cephalochordata - Lancelets Subphylum Myxini - Hagfishes Subphylum Vertebrata - Vertebrates Petromyzontida - Lampreys Placodermi (extinct) Chondrichthyes - Cartilaginous fishes Acanthodii (extinct) Actinopterygii - Ray-finned fishes Actinistia - Coelacanths Dipnoi - Lungfishes Amphibia - Amphibians Reptilia - Reptiles Aves - Birds Mammalia - Mammals Chordates (phylum Chordata) include the vertebrates, together with... Orders See text The Actinopterygii are the ray-finned fish. ... Families Akysidae Amblycipitidae Amphiliidae Ariidae Aspredinidae Astroblepidae Auchenipteridae Bagridae Callichthyidae Cetopsidae Chacidae Clariidae Claroteidae Cranoglanididae Diplomystidae Doradidae Hypophthalmidae Ictaluridae Loricariidae Malapteruridae Mochokidae Nematogenyidae Pangasiidae Parakysidae Pimelodidae Plotosidae Schilbeidae Scoloplacidae Siluridae Sisoridae Trichomycteridae Catfish (order Siluriformes) are a diverse group of fish. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ... View of the Mekong before the sunset The Mekong is one of the worlds major rivers. ... The World Conservation Union or International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) is an international organization dedicated to natural resource conservation. ...

The fish is distinguished from other large catfish in the Mekong by its lack of teeth and the almost complete absence of barbels; it feeds only on vegetation in . It reaches a length of 3 m and a weight of 150-200 kg within 5 years, with the largest catch on record being a female 2.7 m long and weighing 293 kg (646 lb). Note: some sources (e.g. National Geographic) say this specimen was originally incorrectly reported as male and that it was actually a female. Thai Fisheries officials stripped the fish of its eggs and hoped to release the fish as part of a breeding program, but the fish died in captivity. The metre (Commonwealth English) or meter (American English) (symbol: m) is the SI base unit of length. ... The international prototype, made of platinum-iridium, which is kept at the BIPM under conditions specified by the 1st CGPM in 1889. ... A year is the time between two recurrences of an event related to the orbit of the Earth around the Sun. ... The pound is the name of a number of units of mass or weight, all in the range of 300 to 600 grams. ...

In Laos, it is called "Pa beuk", and is the most highly-esteemed fish in Lao cuisine. In former times, specific rites were associated with the catch of these fish, which was conducted once yearly. Rarely is the fish available in markets. Food writer Alan Davidson describes its flesh with words like "superlative", "admirable texture and unmatched flavour", and "subtle and majestic". The liver is a delicacy and the pickled roe of the females provide "Laotian caviar". Lao cuisine is the cuisine of Laos. ... Alan Eaton Davidson (March 30, 1924 - December 2, 2003) was a British diplomat and historian best known for his books on food and gastronomy. ...

It is also known as "Pla buk", "Pla ma fai", "Pla nang", and "Pla hua kum hang hum" (Thai), "Cá tra dầu" (Vietnamese), and "Trey réach" (Khmer). Khmer can refer to, the: Khmer people, the ethnic group to which the great majority of Cambodians belong to Khmer language Khmer script Khmer Empire, which ruled much of Indochina from the 9th to the 13th centuries. ...

External links

• Fishbase
• Photographs of sport fishers with their catch
• National Geographic article describing largest catch on record
• National Geographic article
• National Geographic citing largest catch as female, not male
• Mekong Catfish caught as world's largest known fish
• Giant Pangasius heading for extinction
• Giant Mekong catfish released in Cambodia
• Article in IHT about May 2005 catch of 646 lb specimen
• The big one, New Scientist, 9 July 2005, p. 6