One of the world’s largest freshwater fish has been declared extinct, according to multiple Chinese media reports Thursday.

The Chinese paddlefish, Psephurus gladius, is believed to have gone extinct between 2005 and 2010, according to a paper published last week in the academic journal Science of the Total Environment. The authors, Wei Qiwei and Zhang Hui, are researchers at the Chinese Academy of Fisheries Sciences in Jingzhou, Hubei province — a city that lies along the Yangtze River, once the paddlefish’s habitat.

Sometimes referred to as the “giant panda of rivers,” the Chinese paddlefish was an elusive and long-protected species. Capable of growing up to 7 meters long, it had a distinctive elongated nose.

The Chinese paddlefish was named a top-level protected species by domestic environmental authorities in 1983. But due to overfishing and habitat loss, the species was declared to be “on the verge of extinction” in 2009. Despite active conservation efforts, no live paddlefish have been recovered in 17 years. The last confirmed sighting of the fish in its Yangtze habitat was on Jan. 24, 2003. (Image: @人民日报 on Weibo)