What fish live in the Amazon River?
10 Best Known Fish Species in the Amazon River:
- The Arapaima (Arapaima gigas)
- Tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum)
- Candiru (Vandellia cirrhosa)
- Red-bellied Piranha (Pygocentrus nattereri)
- Armored Catfish.
- Electric Eel (Electrophorus electricus)
- Pancake Stingrays.
- Bull Shark (Carcharhinus leucas)
What is a feared fish of the Amazon River?
Piranhas range from northern Argentina to Colombia, but they are most diverse in the Amazon River, where 20 different species are found. The most infamous is the red-bellied piranha (Pygocentrus nattereri), with the strongest jaws and sharpest teeth of all.
What’s the biggest fish in the Amazon River?
arapaima gigas
A native to Amazonia’s rivers and lakes, the arapaima gigas is one of the biggest freshwater fish in the world, measuring an impressive 10 feet long and weighing a whopping 485 pounds.
What is the rarest fish in the Amazon?
Arapaima
| Arapaima | |
|---|---|
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Osteoglossiformes |
| Family: | Osteoglossidae |
Are there sharks in the Amazon River?
We know that when the first Spanish explorers saw the mighty Amazon River they called it “The Great Inland Sea”, but it is full of freshwater. So are there sharks in the Amazon? Surprisingly, the answer is YES – bull sharks.
Is there sharks in the Amazon River?
Is there crocodiles in the Amazon River?
Strictly speaking, there are no rainforest crocodiles in the Amazon Rainforest aside from the odd American or Orinoco crocodile that may from time to time end up in the northern reaches. Generally speaking, the Amazon Rainforest crocodiles are actually caiman in the alligator family.
What kind of fish can you catch in the Amazon River?
Divers will need to go deep into the wilds of the Amazon to catch a glimpse of this strange fish. Found only in the Amazon River basin, the Arapaima, also known as the Pirarucu, is one of the largest freshwater fish in the world, growing to nearly 15-feet in length and weighing more than 400-pounds. This fish is an obligate air breather.
Are Amazon catfish bottom dwellers?
Amazon catfish have long had great commercial importance as food fish, aquarium fish and more recently as some of the world’s most exciting sportfish. Although many are bottom-dwellers (benthic), there are also a great number of predatory, pelagic (open-water) feeders, with a free-swimming (and free-fighting) habit.
How many species of catfish are there in the Amazon River?
With 15 families, including over 1300 species, Amazon catfish not only dominate the Amazon’s aquatic diversity, but they account for almost half of all the catfish species in the world.
Are there Piranhas in the Amazon River?
If a brave SCUBA diver wishes to explore the dark and murky waters of the Amazon, they are sure to encounter a number of strange fish. Some, like the infamous, flesh-eating piranha, are well-known and should be avoided when possible.