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#8 Giant freshwater stingray, Urogymnus polylepis

The Giant freshwater stingray, Urogymnus polylepis, is one of the largest and heaviest freshwater fishes in the world. With the ability to gain more than 600kg and 2m disc width, this freshwater giant mostly swims the large rivers of south and southeast Asia (you can take a look at the beautiful Giant stingray in this surprising Jeremy Wade video and other giants of the Mekong river here). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species lists the Giant freshwater stingray as Endangered, mainly due to fisheries and habitat degradation. The development of dams is also one of the drivers for their – and other freshwater megafauna species – population declines. Among WWF’s conservation efforts is our Resilient Asian Deltas (RAD) Initiative, whose ambition is to secure healthy and functioning river systems from source to delta through unprecedented political and financial investment in ‘building with nature’. To address the crisis facing freshwater biodiversity like the Giant freshwater stingray, WWF has just published an Emergency Recovery Plan  - together with scientists from across the world  - as a call to action to the world’s decision makers to value, protect and restore freshwater habitats before it’s too late.


#7 Grey Crowned crane, Balearica regulorum

The Grey Crowned crane, Balearica regulorum, calls attention for its beautiful colours and a majestic golden plumage on their head unfolding like a crown. They are also known for displaying playful behaviours such as dancing. Mainly a form of socialization and pair formation, other species of cranes are also famous for their dance moves. You can find the Grey Crowned crane “performing” in the eastern and southern regions of Africa, where they are also a culturally important species – considered icons of Africa’s wetlands and savannahs, besides being the national bird of Uganda. However, it’s not all glamour for the Grey Crowned crane. Listed as Endangered by the IUCN list of threatened species, they are threatened primarily by illegal trade, disturbance, and habitat loss. The Global Wetland Outlook 2018 states that up to 87% of wetlands have been lost since 1700. The Grey Crowned crane and the other 14 living species of cranes need wetlands as stepping stone corridors –  where they can find a safe harbour to sleep, rest, nesting, and rearing the young. As cranes are among the most threatened bird families in the world, WWF has joined the International Year of Crane 2020, announced by the International Crane Foundation and the Crane Working Group of Eurasia. The Amur River basin is the flyway and breeding grounds of no less than six species of cranes, and WWF will be working with partners in the region to strengthen the conservation of both wetlands and the majestic cranes.

#6 Rainbow mussel, Villosa iris

The Rainbow mussel, Villosa iris, is a fascinating freshwater species not only for its beautiful inside shell, which is iridescent – they are also the master of disguise! “Hidden” in the North American rivers and streams, this tiny mussel uses mimicry to increase its odds of success: the mussel lures fishes by looking and moving like a crayfish, which is, in reality, a few flaps of fleshy skin coming out of its shell. Once the fish is close enough to take a bite of the “crayfish”, the Rainbow mussel releases a cloud of tens of thousands of parasitic spawn! Aiming for a safe place to transition into juvenile mussels, the mussel larvae latch to the fish’s gills, fins, and skin. Their new “home” (and “ride”) also provide for their food – they feed on the minuscule amounts of nutrients from their host. Most of the time, however, the fooled host-fish is not harmed by this interaction. Take a look at how they lure their prey on this cool video.


#5 Golden Mahseer, Tor putitora

The Golden Mahseer, Tor putitora, is one of the world’s most iconic freshwater fish – highly prized by anglers, it is viewed as a God fish by local communities in some parts of South Asia, such as India and Bhutan. But its numbers are declining across South and South East Asia due to a range of threats from dam blocking its migratory routes to pollution and unsustainable fishing. It is now classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List of threatened species. Local communities in India have revered fish species as symbols of divine power, offering them protection and building temple sanctuaries along the river banks, the first established nearly 1200 years ago. The Golden Mahseer benefits from this protection in several stretches of the river Ganges associated with these temples, where fishing is not allowed, and local communities, pilgrims, and temple authorities help to monitor and protect the mahseer population. The Mahseer also has cultural, religious and economic significance in Bhutan, where it is known as the Tiger of the River (you can find out more in this great documentary on the “Tiger of the River” produced by WWF Bhutan). In 2015, as a response to the pressures on Bhutan’s river systems, the Fisheries Conservation Foundation, WWF Bhutan, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests started a partnership to assess the migration pattern of the God fish using radio telemetry technology. This year, the 2^nd International Mahseer Conference  is being held in Thailand from 11th to 15th February, where researchers and conservationists - including WWF - will share knowledge, collaborate and promote the conservation of the species.


#4 Yangtze Finless porpoise, Neophocaena asiaeorientalis asiaeorientalis
 
The Yangtze Finless porpoise, Neophocaena asiaeorientalis asiaeorientalis, as the name suggests, lives in the Yangtze River and is the world’s only freshwater porpoise – and one of only five surviving species of freshwater cetacean. Unfortunately, there are only an estimated 1,012 finless porpoises left in China’s greatest river and they are listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN red list of threatened species due to a host of threats, including water pollution, overfishing, boat traffic, sand mining, and river fragmentation. Many finless porpoises have also been killed after becoming accidentally entangled in gill nets – something which contributed to the extinction of the Yangtze freshwater dolphin, the Baiji (Lipotes vexillifer). But there is still hope for the Yangtze finless porpoise. Led by the Chinese government, conservation efforts – involving WWF, partners and local communities – have helped to drastically slow the annual decline in the finless porpoise population, including relocating animals to safer habitats away from the river’s mainstem to create new breeding populations. Huge amounts of work still need to be done to secure the survival of the species and WWF will continue to be at the forefront through its global River Dolphin Rivers initiative. This initiative is working on the development of smart river pingers in an effort to prevent future entanglement in gillnets. For many years, the finless porpoise had little to smile about but thanks to the combined efforts of the government, communities and conservationists, there is now a chance that the species can turn the corner and that its population will finally start to increase.


#3 Hellbender Salamander, Cryptobranchus alleganiensis

The Hellbender salamander, Cryptobranchus alleganiensis, a.k.a. giant salamander, is, non-surprisingly, the largest salamander in North America – and the third-largest in the world. But these amphibian giants are fascinating not only for their size: they have lungs, but they mostly breathe through their wrinkly skin; they can swim, but usually walk underwater through their sturdy limbs. With tiny eyes on the top of their heads and light-sensitive cells all over their bodies, especially on their tails, they can keep their (giant) selves completely hidden from large fish under rocks and use their keen sense of smell to hunt crayfish. Besides playing this important role in their ecosystem, they are also bioindicators of stream quality, as they have a low tolerance for poor water quality. It is not a good sign for the North American rivers that their populations are considered Near Threatened by the International Union for Nature Conservation (IUCN), mainly due to the worsening condition of their freshwater habitats. Find out more about this species in this cool video by David Herasmtschuk.





#2 Matamata turtle, Chelus fimbriata

The matamata turtle, Chelus fimbriata, is one of the world’s largest freshwater turtles – and undeniably one of the weirdest too. Found in the Amazon and Orinoco basins, their unmistakable appearance is the combination of a leaf-shaped head, a long pointy snout, a rough tuberculate flat shell, and an elongated, thick neck with protuberances. The bizarre look is the result of a unique adaptation for feeding and blending in - they are incredibly specialized feeders that wait for dinner to come to them. When unknowing fish approach them to see if the protuberances on their neck are edible, they quickly stretch their neck out and open their mouth to create a vacuum that swallows their prey whole.






#1 European eel, Anguilla Anguilla

For the first week we are highlighting the European eel, Anguilla anguilla. There can be few species more mysterious than the European eel, Anguilla Anguilla. A species that breeds just once in its lifetime and must travel thousands of kilometres to do so. European eels, like other Anguillid eels exhibit a number of life stages: they start their lives in the ocean as leptocephalus (larvae) which float back to estuaries where they turn into glass eels, and then elvers before travelling upstream into our rivers where they turn into yellow eels. The final stage of an European eel’s life is as a silver eel; silver eels are able to migrate thousands of kilometres to the Sargasso sea to spawn. No one has witnessed their spawning and so the spawning location remains a hypothesis. European eels are a Critically Endangered species, threatened by dams and infrastructure, habitat destruction and illegal trafficking. Find out more about this enigmatic and mysterious freshwater species in this great article.
If you’d like to find out about other Anguillid species, check out this blog from Kathy Hughes, our very own Freshwater Habitats and Species ACAI lead. Kathy like’s eels so much she takes holidays especially to swim with them.