Freshwater sharks are sharks that live in freshwater environments. While the majority of sharks are solely marine, a small number of shark species have adapted to live in freshwater.
The bull shark, Carcharhinus leucas, can swim between salt and fresh water, and are found in tropical rivers around the world. The river sharks (of the genus Glyphis) can live in both saltwater and freshwater as well, while one of their members, the Ganges shark (Glyphis gangeticus), lives exclusively in freshwater.
Some prehistoric sharks (in a broad sense), including hybodonts and xenacanths, are also thought to have inhabited freshwater environments.
A small number of freshwater fish cyprinids and catfish (which are bony fish and thus quite unrelated to sharks) are also commonly called "freshwater sharks", "sharkminnows" or simply "sharks", particularly in the aquarium fish trade:
- Balantiocheilos melanopterus – Bala shark, tricolor shark, silver shark
- Epalzeorhynchos – typical freshwater "sharks"
- Labeo – labeos
- Puntius denisonii – Roseline shark
- Pangasianodon hypophthalmus – Iridescent Shark
- Pangasius sangitwongsei – sometimes called Paroon Shark or Hi-Fin Shark in the aquarium trade
