Arapaima

The arapaima, pirarucu, or paiche are several large species of bonytongue fish in the genus Arapaima.

Arapaima
Scientific classification e
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Osteoglossiformes
Family: Arapaimidae
Genus: Arapaima
J. P. Müller, 1843
Type species
Sudis gigas
Schinz, 1822
Synonyms
  • Sudis G. Cuvier, 1816 (preoccupied)
  • Vastres Valenciennes, 1847

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]


  • Arapaima at the Shedd Aquarium
    Arapaima at the Shedd Aquarium
  • Arapaima at the Manila Ocean Park
    Arapaima at the Manila Ocean Park
  • Arapaima at the Cologne Zoological Garden
    Arapaima at the Cologne Zoological Garden
  • Arapaima leptosoma at the zoo (sea aquarium) in Sevastopol
    Arapaima leptosoma at the zoo (sea aquarium) in Sevastopol
  • Arapaima depicted on a 1954 postage stamp of British Guiana
    Arapaima depicted on a 1954 postage stamp of British Guiana

References
  1. 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.
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