Ganges Shark :: Glyphis gangeticus

Bad at Goodbyes :: Episode 083

On today’s show we learn about the Ganges Shark, a critically endangered freshwater shark native to South and Southeast Asia, to the river systems of India, Bangladesh and Indonesian Borneo. Its scientific name is Glyphis gangeticus and it was first described in 1839.

For more information about Shark conservation please see the Shark Conservation Fund at https://www.sharkconservationfund.org.

• (00:05) Intro
• (02:05) Species Information
• (19:53) Citations
• (21:39) Music
• (29:55) Pledge

Research for today’s show was compiled from:

• Chowdhury, G., Akash, M., Haque, A. (2017). Status of the Ganges river shark Glyphis gangeticus (Müller & Henle, 1839). Dhaka University Journal of Biological Sciences. 26. 111-116. – https://doi.org/10.3329/dujbs.v26i1.46355
• Compagno, L. J. V. (n.d.). Glyphis gangeticus. Sharks of the World, Naturalis Biodiversity Center. – https://sharks.linnaeus.naturalis.nl/linnaeus_ng/app/views/species/taxon.php?id=62717
• De, K., A. Dwivedi. 2025. Call to Action for Conservation of the Critically Endangered Ganges Shark (Glyphis gangeticus). Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems , 35(2). – https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.70080
• Duhigg, K. (2020, June). The rare shark of the Ganga. Mongabay India. – https://india.mongabay.com/2020/06/the-rare-shark-of-the-ganga/
• Dunphy-Miller, S. 2025. "Glyphis gangeticus" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed July 2, 2026 – https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Glyphis_gangeticus/
• Haque AB, Das SA (2019) New records of the Critically Endangered Ganges shark Glyphis gangeticus in Bangladeshi waters: urgent monitoring needed. Endangered Species Research 40:65-73. – https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00981
• iNatualist - Hooghly River / Sesayap River Delta
• Jabado, R.W., Kyne, P.M., Nazareth, E. and Sutaria, D.N. (2018), A rare contemporary record of the Critically Endangered Ganges shark Glyphis gangeticus. Journal of Fish Biology, 92: 1663-1669. – https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.13619
• Martin, R.A. 2005. Conservation of freshwater and euryhaline elasmobranchs. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 85: 1049-1073. – https://doi.org/10.1017/S0025315405012105
• Martin, R. A. (n.d.). The mysterious, endangered river sharks (Glyphis spp.). ReefQuest Centre for Shark Research. – http://www.elasmo-research.org/conservation/river_sharks.htm
• Rigby, C.L., Derrick, D., Dulvy, N.K., Grant, M.I. & Jabado, R.W. 2021. Glyphis gangeticus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021: e.T169473392A124398647. – https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-2.RLTS.T169473392A124398647.en
• Saha, S., Pal, P., Halder, S., Dhara, K., & Saha, N. (2022). Shark diversity in the Indian Sundarban biosphere. FishTaxa, 23, 53-56. – https://fishtaxa.com/index.php/FishTaxa/article/view/50
• Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganges_shark

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A note on accuracy: I strive for it! These episodes are well-researched and built from scholarly sources, hoping to provide an informed and accurate portrait of these species. That said, I’m a musician! I am not an academic and have limited scientific background. I may get things wrong! If you are using this podcast for scholarship of any kind, please see the cited sources and double-check all information.