$4.99Giant Freshwater Stingray Urogymnus polylepis

myminifactory

Conservation Status: Endangered As the name suggests, the magnificent giant freshwater stingray is a freshwater ray endemic to Asia and Oceania. It Southeast Asia is an endangered species found in Cambodia, Indonesia, India, Saba and Sarawak in Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand. It can also be found in New Guinea and northern Australia. Its habitat is the sandy and muddy bottoms of large rivers and estuaries. The giant freshwater ray is indeed giant. With a maximum length of 240cm and a weight of up to 600kg, it is one of the largest freshwater fish on earth. Its dorsal surface is uniformly greyish brown in colour and its underside is white. It has a sharply pointed snout and lacks skin folds along its body. It also lacks dorsal spines and caudal fins and has a long, whip-like tail. Giant freshwater stingrays are predatory fish feeding mainly on smaller fish and benthic invertebrates. It is venomous but this aspect of its biology is little understood. Female rays exhibit ovoviviparity (producing eggs that hatch inside the body of the parent). The embryos initially feed on yolk and then receive additional nourishment from the mother through indirect absorption of histotroph or uterine fluid that has been enriched with fat or mucus. Between one and four pups are born at about 30cm disc width. Despite its impressive size, giant freshwater ray populations are under significant pressure from overfishing for meat and for the aquarium trade, habitat degradation and death from bycatch.  Pre-Supported in Large Scale and Mini Museum ScaleThis model comes with two pre-supported versions allowing for easy resin printing; a large sized model, and a 'Mini Museum' size, perfect for collecting and display. The chitubox files are also supplied if customisation of supports is required. As this model contains many fine details and delicate parts, care is recommended when removing supports to avoid damage. Clipping off the supports before cleaning up with a sharp blade or file is the best method. Hollowed VersionThis model includes a hollowed version. The hollowed version is made available in order to reduce the amount of resin consumed. If printing hollowed, curing the inside of the model is recommended.   All images of test prints were made with a Phrozen Sonic Mini 4k with a layer height of 0.05mm