📷 (c) manimiranda, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) · CC BY NC
📷 (c) kiyi, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
📷 (c) Dominick Porcelli, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)
IUCN: Data Deficient
Arapaima
Arapaima gigas
KingdomAnimalia›PhylumChordata›ClassActinopterygii›OrderOsteoglossiformes›FamilyArapaimidae›GenusArapaima
About
Arapaimas are huge freshwater fish that gulp air with a modified swim bladder, allowing them to survive oxygen-poor floodplain waters. Parents guard young in shallow nurseries. Heavy fishing reduced many populations, but community-managed lakes have shown that sustainable harvest can support recovery.
Key Facts
⛰Habitat Amazon floodplain lakes, slow rivers, flooded forest, and oxbow lakes
🍃Diet Carnivore — fish, crustaceans, insects, birds, and small vertebrates
📏Size & Weight Body often 1.5–2 m; historically larger
•weight Up to 200 kg
⏳Lifespan 15–20 years
🗺Range Amazon and Essequibo basins of South America
Fish
Key Facts
⛰Habitat Amazon floodplain lakes, slow rivers, flooded forest, and oxbow lakes
🍃Diet Carnivore — fish, crustaceans, insects, birds, and small vertebrates
📏Size & Weight Body often 1.5–2 m; historically larger
•weight Up to 200 kg
⏳Lifespan 15–20 years
🗺Range Amazon and Essequibo basins of South America
Photo Credits
#1(c) manimiranda, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) · CC BY NC
#2(c) kiyi, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) · CC BY NC
#3(c) Dominick Porcelli, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) · CC BY NC
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