World's largest freshwater fish found in Cambodia, say scientists

A giant stingray has been caught in the Mekong River, in Cambodia.

Scientists say it is the largest freshwater fish ever recorded.

At four metres long, it is more than double the length of an average human and weighs 300kg.

It took about 12 people to move the fish, which has now been tagged and released back into the river.

A fisherman made the discovery and got in touch with the Wonders of the Mekong, which is a joint Cambodian-US conservation research project.

The project works with local fishermen and women, who alert the team if they catch any endangered or giant fish.

The team tagged the fish so they could track its movements and behaviours, before releasing it back into the river.

For the next year they'll learn more about the life of the giant stingray, as researchers say currently there isn't a lot of information known about the fish.

The giant stingray beats the previous record for largest freshwater fish, which was a 293kg Mekong giant catfish found in Thailand in 2005.

The fish has been named Boramy, which means full moon in the Khmer language, because of her huge shape.

Scientists are excited by the discovery not just because it's such a big fish, but also because it gives them information on the Mekong River.

"It is also very exciting news because it means that this stretch of the Mekong is still healthy.... It is a sign of hope that these huge fish still live in the Mekong," said Zeb Hogan a biologist working on the project.

Stringrays are famous for the way they glide through the ocean, and for their 'smiley' faces on their pale belly

The Mekong River flows from the Tibetan Plateau through China, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.

It is full of a variety of different species but overfishing and pollution threaten its ecosystem.