Arapaima gigas (Cuvier 1812, Schinz 1822, Müller 1843, originally Sudis gigas; up to 2.5m long) is the extant arapaima, one of the largest living freshwater fish. Traditionally Arapaima is considered a member of the Osteoglossiformes (bony tongues) and arapaima does have a bony tongue. Other traditional osteoglossiformes include unrelated arowanas like Osteoglossum, unrelated featherbacks, like Notopterus, semi-related knifefish like Gymnotus and related mormyroids like Mormyrus..
This fish-eating, air-breather with gills has a thick armor of tough scales that fend off piranha attacks. It lives in oxygen-poor remnants of the Amazon River and eats a wide variety of fish, crustaceans, fruits, seeds and insects. Hatchlings are protected within the mouth of the male, as in the unrelated extant Osteoglossum. |
