Arapaima
The arapaima, pirarucu, or paiche are several large species of bonytongue fish in the genus Arapaima.
| Arapaima | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Unrecognized taxon (fix): | Arapaima |
| Type species | |
| Sudis gigas Schinz, 1822
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| Synonyms | |
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They are native to the Amazon and Essequibo basins of South America. These fish are widely dispersed and do not migrate. This makes scientists think that there are more species of arapaima that scientists have not found yet. [1]
Species
- Arapaima agassizii (Valenciennes, 1847) (Agassiz's arapaima)
- Arapaima gigas (Schinz, 1822) (pirarucu, arapaima)
- Arapaima leptosoma D. J. Stewart, 2013 (slender arapaima; Solimoes arapaima)
- Arapaima mapae (Valenciennes, 1847) (Mapa arapaima)
Ecology
The diet of the arapaima consists of fish, crustaceans, fruits, seeds, insects, and small land animals that walk near the shore. Arapaima can leap out of the water if they feel harassed or bullied.
Gallery
Arapaima at the Shedd Aquarium
Arapaima at the Manila Ocean Park
Arapaima at the Cologne Zoological Garden
Arapaima leptosoma at the zoo (sea aquarium) in Sevastopol
Arapaima depicted on a 1954 postage stamp of British Guiana
Arapaima Media
Arapaima leptosoma shown at its full length
Scales of Arapaima gigas
- Arapaimacloseup
Vastres gigas = Arapaima gigas*1: skull, side*2: skull, top*3: lower jaw, side*4: vertebra, side*5: vertebra, front
Specimen at a 2002 exhibition at the Bavarian State Collection of Zoology
References
- ↑ Arantes, Caroline C., Leandro Castello, Mauricio Cetra, and Ana Schilling. "Environmental Influences on the Distribution of Arapaima in Amazon Floodplains." Environmental Biology of Fishes (2011): 1257-267. Print.
Other websites
- Arapaima on English Wikipedia