![]() "In 20 years of researching giant fish in rivers and lakes on six continents, this is the largest freshwater fish that we've encountered or that's been documented anywhere worldwide," Zeb Hogan, a fish biologist leading the Wonders of the Mekong project, said in a statement. The stingray, caught in Stung Treng province in northern Cambodia, was more than twice the weight of an average lowland gorilla, the experts said. The monstrous bottom-dweller beat the previous record for biggest recorded freshwater fish, held by a 293kg Mekong giant catfish caught in Thailand in 2005, the US-funded Wonders of the Mekong research project said. The giant freshwater stingray, which measured four metres from snout to tail, was caught last week and released back into the wild after being fitted with a tag to track its behaviour. It has also been introduced for sport fishing in Thailand and Malaysia.A fisherman on the Mekong river in Cambodia has hooked the biggest freshwater fish ever recorded, scientists said - a 300-kilogramme stingray. Arapaimas have been introduced as an aquaculture species to other rivers in tropical South America. This makes the arapaima an ideal species for farming. In recent years, new management practices involving local fishing communities in Brazil have boosted arapaima populations.Īrapaimas don’t just grow big, they also exhibit the fastest known growth rates in any fish. Their numbers have declined dramatically throughout the region mainly because of overfishing. Their proximity to the water’s surface makes the arapaimas vulnerable to human predators, who can easily target them with harpoons and spears. Local people often salt and dry the meat, which can be stored without rotting, important in a region with little refrigeration. Sometimes referred to as the “cod of the Amazon,” arapaimas are considered an excellent food fish and have provided an important source of protein in the Amazon for centuries. Since then, further studies have shown that there may be five or more species of arapaimas. ‘Cod of the Amazon’Īrapaima gigas was long believed to be the only species of arapaima, but in 2013 scientists proved that another species of the fish exists. ![]() The eggs begin to hatch as rising water levels provide them with flood conditions in which to flourish. Then, during low-water months, arapaimas construct nests in sandy bottoms where the females lay eggs.Īdult males play an unusual reproductive role by incubating tens of thousands of eggs in their mouths, guarding them aggressively and moving them when necessary. When the rivers overflow, fish are dispersed into floodplains containing so much decaying vegetation that oxygen levels are too low to support most fish. Their movements and reproductive cycle are highly dependent on the Amazon’s seasonal floods. Arapaimas survive mainly on fish, but they're also known to eat fruits, seeds, and insects.įierce predators, they can also use short bursts of speed to leap out of the water to grab birds, lizards, and even small primates from low-hanging trees. ![]() This South American giant uses a “gulper” feeding strategy: By opening its large mouth, the fish creates a vacuum that pulls in nearby food objects. The noisy, distinctive gulp it makes sounds like a cough and can be heard from far away. They tend to stay near the water’s surface before coming up to breathe, using a modified swim bladder that opens into the fish’s mouth and acts as a lung. ![]() Their Brazilian name, pirarucu, comes from the Tupi language and translates roughly as “red fish.”Īs obligate air breathers, arapaimas can only stay underwater for 10 to 20 minutes. A dorsal fin stretches along their backs toward their massive tails, which are red. More commonly, they’re about six feet long and 200 pounds.Īrapaimas have tapered, copperish-green heads, upturned mouths, and scaly, streamlined bodies that are black with a white center. One of the world's largest freshwater fish species, these giants can grow up to 15 feet long and weigh up to 440 pounds, though fish that big have not been reported for many years. Also known as the paiche or the pirarucu, the arapaima is an air-breathing fish that plies the rainforest rivers of South America's Amazon Basin and nearby lakes and swamps. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |