News Animals

The ‘Mekong ghost’ megafish has resurfaced after an extinction scare 

Rediscovery of giant salmon carp, unseen for nearly two decades, sparks survival hopes

This image shows the head of the newly rediscovered giant salmon carp with its distinctive hooked jaw. A pair of hands hold a measuring tape, measuring the size of the fish's head.

This giant salmon carp (Aaptosyax grypus) is one of three rediscovered in Cambodia in Southeast Asia’s Mekong River system. The critically endangered megafish had not been spotted since 2005.

Chhut Chheana/Wonders of the Mekong

By Stefan Lovgren

The “Mekong ghost” fish is a ghost no more.

Like the legendary Rip Van Winkle, who wandered into the woods and disappeared for 20 years, the giant salmon carp (Aaptosyax grypus) of Southeast Asia’s Mekong River also seemed to vanish into the depths of myth.