Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; benthopelagic. Tropical; 24°C - 30°C (Ref. 1672)
South America: Amazon River basin, Rupununi and Oyapock Rivers.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Max length : 90.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 50892); max. published weight: 6.0 kg (Ref. 72380)
Body covered with very big scales; dorsal and anal fins almost fused with the caudal fin; 2 barbels at the extremity of the lower jaw; adult silvery, juvenile with blue glints and a yellow-orange bar (Ref. 12225).
Is an omnivore with a tendency to feed on fish at the surface. The superior position of the mouth allows it to capture its prey while swimming from below. Also jumps out of the water to feed on large insects (Coleoptera; Ref. 27548). It is capable of adapting to environments with low oxygen levels (Ref. 12225).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
The male carries eggs, larvae and early juveniles (alevinos) in his mouth (Ref. 1672), which lasts for nearly six weeks (Ref. 102836).
Ferraris, C.J. Jr., 2003. Osteoglossidae (Arowanas). p. 30. In R.E. Reis, S.O. Kullander and C.J. Ferraris, Jr. (eds.) Checklist of the Freshwater Fishes of South and Central America. Porto Alegre: EDIPUCRS, Brasil. (Ref. 50892)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-2)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: commercial; gamefish: yes; aquarium: commercial
Tools
Special reports
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.7656 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00417 (0.00230 - 0.00756), b=3.10 (2.93 - 3.27), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & (Sub)family-body (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.4 ±0.48 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Low to moderate vulnerability (31 of 100).
Nutrients (Ref.
124155): Calcium = 70.2 [37.0, 146.8] mg/100g; Iron = 0.941 [0.505, 1.975] mg/100g; Protein = 16.6 [14.7, 18.3] %; Omega3 = 0.284 [0.117, 0.703] g/100g; Selenium = 112 [37, 275] μg/100g; VitaminA = 31.4 [11.0, 83.9] μg/100g; Zinc = 1.38 [0.95, 2.04] mg/100g (wet weight);
