Freshwater sharks are sharks that live in freshwater environments. While the majority of sharks are solely marine, a small number of shark species have adapted to live in freshwater.
The river sharks (of the genus Glyphis) live in freshwater and coastal marine environments. The bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas), can swim between salt and fresh water, and are found in tropical rivers around the world.
Some prehistoric sharks (in a broad sense), including hybodonts and xenacanths, are also thought to have inhabited freshwater environments.
A small number of freshwater fish cyprinids and catfish (which are bony fish and thus quite unrelated to sharks) are also commonly called "freshwater sharks", "sharkminnows" or simply "sharks", particularly in the aquarium fish trade:
- Balantiocheilos melanopterus – Bala shark, tricolor shark, silver shark
- Epalzeorhynchos – typical freshwater "sharks"
- Labeo – labeos
- Puntius denisonii – Roseline shark
- Pangasianodon hypophthalmus – Iridescent Shark
- Pangasius sangitwongsei – sometimes called Paroon Shark or Hi-Fin Shark in the aquarium trade
Index of animals with the same common nameThis page is an index of articles on animal species (or higher taxonomic groups) with the same common name (vernacular name). If an internal link led you here, you may wish to edit the linking article so that it links directly to the intended article.
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