 It is endangered because the population decreased by 50% in the last 10 years.The bala shark occurs in the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, and Borneo.Previous records further north in the Mekong and Chao Phraya River is due to confusion with the recently described and possibly extinct "B. ambusticauda" (although the presence of any "Balantiocheilos" in the Mekong is questionable).