Freshwater Shark

Freshwater sharks are

shark Sharks are a group of elasmobranch fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the clade Selachimo ...

s able to live in

freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does include ...

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

s and

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

s, including: * the

river shark ''Glyphis'' is a genus in the family Carcharhinidae, commonly known as the river sharks. They live in rivers or coastal regions in and around south-east Asia and parts of Australia. Taxonomy This genus contains only three extant species. Furth ...

s, ''Glyphis'', true freshwater sharks found in fresh and brackish water in Asia and Australia * the

bull shark The bull shark (''Carcharhinus leucas''), also known as the Zambezi shark (informally zambi) in Africa and Lake Nicaragua shark in Nicaragua, is a species of requiem shark commonly found worldwide in warm, shallow waters along coasts and in riv ...

, ''Carcharhinus leucas'', which can swim between salt and fresh water, and are found in tropical rivers around the world. A small number of freshwater fish

cyprinid Cyprinidae is a family of freshwater fish commonly called the carp or minnow family. It includes the carps, the true minnows, and relatives like the barbs and barbels. Cyprinidae is the largest and most diverse fish family and the largest verte ...

s and

catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive, ...

(which are

bony fish Osteichthyes (), popularly referred to as the bony fish, is a diverse superclass of fish that have skeletons primarily composed of bone tissue. They can be contrasted with the Chondrichthyes, which have skeletons primarily composed of cartilag ...

and thus quite unrelated to sharks) are also commonly called "freshwater sharks", "sharkminnows" or simply "sharks", particularly in the

aquarium fish Lists of aquarium life include lists of fish, amphibians, invertebrates and plants in freshwater, brackish and marine aquariums. In fishkeeping, suitable species of aquarium fish, plants and other organisms vary with the size, water chemistry and ...

trade: * '' Balantiocheilos melanopterus'' – Bala shark, tricolor shark, silver shark * ''

Epalzeorhynchos ''Epalzeorhynchos'' is a small ray-finned fish genus of the family Cyprinidae. Its members are – like some other cyprinids – known as "freshwater sharks" or simply "sharks". They are, however, freshwater members of the Osteichthyes li ...

'' – typical freshwater "sharks" * ''

Labeo ''Labeo'' is a genus of carps in the family Cyprinidae. They are found in freshwater habitats in the tropics and subtropics of Africa and Asia. It contains the typical labeos in the subfamily Labeoninae, which may not be a valid group, however, ...

'' – * '' Puntius denisonii'' – Roseline shark * ''

Pangasianodon hypophthalmus The iridescent shark, iridescent shark catfish (''Pangasianodon hypophthalmus'') is a species of shark catfish (family Pangasiidae) native to the rivers of Southeast Asia. Despite its name, it is not a shark. It is found in the Mekong basin as w ...

'' – Iridescent Shark * '' Pangasius sangitwongsei'' – sometimes called Paroon Shark or Hi-Fin Shark in the aquarium trade {{Animal common name Cyprinidae Sharks Fish common names