An 800-pound stingray caught by scientists in Thailand while filming for ABC's "Ocean Mysteries" may or may not be a world record for the largest freshwater fish ever documented, but show host Jeff Corwin couldn't be more excited.
The whopping stingray was captured in the Mae Klong River, about an hour outside of Bangkok, in about 65 feet of water,
according to National Geographic. The stingray measured nearly eight feet across and 14 feet long, said Nantarika Chansue, a veterinarian and professor at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok.
Chansue said the stingray weighed an estimated 700 to 800 pounds but scientists couldn't get an exact weight.
"It's really hard to weigh these things without hurting them, because they are such big, awkward animals," Zeb Hogan, a biology professor at the University of Nevada, Reno told National Geographic. "Certainly (this) was a huge fish, even compared to other giant freshwater stingrays, and definitely ranks among the largest freshwater fish in the world."
Corwin shared his excitement about the fish on Facebook.
Rick Humphries, of United Kingdom company Fishsiam whose guides helped catch the gigantic stingray, told London's
Daily Mail that they believe the fish qualifies for world record status.
"We have caught over 450 different stingrays and our estimations have been proved highly accurate on the rare occasions we have weighed this species," said Humphries.
Hogan said the giant stingray was pregnant, indicating a thriving environment for the species in Thailand.
"The larger specimens are always female and quite often pregnant, as was the case with this capture," said Humphries. "The latest capture indicates that these stingrays are growing at a fast and healthy rate."
British angler Ian Welch held the record for the largest stingray caught, snatching one that weighed 590 to 770 pounds in the same Thailand river in 2009, noted the Daily Mail.
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