INTRODUCTION:-

The Ganges shark (Glyphis gangeticus) is a critically endangered species

of requiem shark found in the Ganges River (Padma River) and
the Brahmaputra River of Bangladesh and India.

Glyphis: from Greek glyphe, meaning "carving". Termed by Muller and

Henle in 1839.
Scientic classification:-
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Order: Carcharhiniformes
Family: Carcharhinidae
Genus: Glyphis
Species: Gangeticus

It is often confused with the more common bull shark(Carcharhinus

leucas), which also inhabits the Ganges River and is sometimes incorrectly
referred to as the Ganges shark. Unlike bull sharks, which need to migrate
to salt water to reproduce, species in the genus Glyphis are true river
sharks. The genus contains a total of six known species, only half of which
are described.

The Ganges shark, as its name suggests, is largely restricted to the rivers
of eastern and northeastern India, particularly the Hooghly River of West
Bengal, and the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Mahanadi in Bihar, Assam,
and Odisha, respectively. It is typically found in the middle to lower
reaches of a river.
 HABITAT AND ECOLOGY:-

G.gangeticus is known to inhabit only freshwater, inshore marine, and

estuarine systems in the lower reaches of the Ganges-Hooghly River
system. The feeding habits are mostly unknown.
The sharks small eyes and slender teeth suggest that it is primarily a fish-
eater and is adapted to turbid water. With such limited visibility typical of
many tropical rivers and estuaries, other senses such as hearing, smell
and electroreception are likely used for predation. Because its eyes are
tilted towards its back rather than to the sides or bottom (as is the case in
most carcharhinids), it is thought that the shark may swim along the
bottom and scan the water above it for potential prey back-lit by the sun.
However, in the Bay of Bengal, G. gangeticus was found to feed heavily
on dasyatid stingrays, which spend much of their time on the bottom.
 MORPHOLOGICAL FEATURES:-

G. gangeticus is a little-known species that is yet to be adequately

described. Its size at birth is 56 centimetres to 61 centimetres growing to
an estimated 178 centimetres at maturity, with a maximum size of
about 204 centimetres. It is worth noting that the size at birth or maturity
is unknown for any other Glyphis species.
A typical requiem shark in its external appearance, it is stocky, with two
spineless dorsal fins and an anal fin. The first dorsal fin originates over the
last third of the pectoral fins, with a free rear tip that is well in front of
the pelvic fins. The second dorsal fin is relatively large, but much smaller
than the first (about half the height). The anal fin is slightly smaller than
the second dorsal fin and the pectoral fins are broad. There is a
longitudinal upper precaudal pit, but no interdorsal ridge. It is uniformly
grey to brownish in color, with no discernible markings.
Its snout is broadly rounded and much shorter than the width of its
mouth. The mouth is long, broad, and extends back and up towards the
eyes
Its eyes are minute, suggesting that it may be adapted to turbid water
with poor visibility, such as occurs in the Ganges River and the Bay of
Bengal. It has internal nictitating eyelids.
Identifying feature is :
G.gangeticus can be identified by the first few lower front teeth, which
have cutting edges along entire cusp, giving the cusps a clawlike shape,
and low cusplets.The tooth row counts are 3237/3134. Also, a second
dorsal fin that is about half the height of first dorsal is distinct to this
species.
 ETHOLOGY:-

Reproduction:-
It is probably viviparous, with a yolk-sac placenta (speculation through analogy
to related species of carcharhinids). The litter size and gestation period are
unknown.However, their life history cycle is probably similar to other river
sharks, characterized by long gestation, slow growth, delayed maturity, and
small litter size. These factors make the Ganges shark populations vulnerable to
even relatively low levels of exploitation, such as sport angling or gill netting.

Possibility of migration:-
Some researchers consider G.gangeticus to be amphidromous, covering more
than 100 km in both directions.However, this is not thought to be for breeding,
as the case in anadromous and catadromous species. The presence of newborn
individuals in the Hooghly River suggests that the young may be born in fresh
water.
 CONSERVATION STATUS :-

IUCN Red List Category: Critically Endangered ,as per 2007 data is
concerned.For the first time in 1996 , the IUCN Red List Category included this
species as Critically Endangered (Baillie and Groombridge)
G. gangeticus is one of 20 sharks on the International Union for Conservation of
Nature and Natural Resources Red List of endangered shark species. Although
only a few complete specimens have been collected, what is thought to be G.
gangeticus jaws have appeared in international trade during recent years to
testify that it is not extinct (L.J.V. Compagno per his observation). There is,
however, no information to suggest that the population status of this species
has improved. There is an urgent need for a detailed survey of the shark
fisheries of the Bay of Bengal.
MAJOR THREATS :-
River sharks are thought to be particularly vulnerable to habitat changes. The
Ganges shark is restricted to a very narrow band of habitat that is heavily
impacted by human activity. Overfishing, habitat degradation from pollution,
increasing river use and management, including construction of dams and
barrages are the principle threats. Thought to be consumed locally for its meat,
the Ganges shark is caught by gillnet and its oil, along with that of the South
Asian river dolphin, is highly sought after as a fish attractant. It is also believed
to be part of the Asian shark fin trade.
CONSERVATION :-
In 2001, the Indian government banned the landing of all species of
chondrichthyan fish in its ports. However, shortly afterwards this ban was
amended to cover only 10 species of chondrichthyans. These, including G.
gangeticus are protected under Schedule I, Part II A of the Wildlife Protection
Act of India. There is doubt about the effectiveness of this measure, however,
because of difficulties in enforcement. There is a widespread, albeit widely
dispersed, artisanal fishery for both local consumption and international trade.
Compagno (1997) recommends an in-depth survey of fishing camps and landing
sites, along with a sampling program in the Ganges system to determine the
current status of this shark along with other gangetic elasmobranchs such
as stingrays and sawfish.