ARAPAIMA

CHARACTERISTICS: It grows to more than 3 metres in length and weighs up to 250 kilos. It lives in barely oxygenated waters, and therefore the oxygen absorbed by its gills is insufficient, so it must breathe atmospheric air or “gape” at least once an hour.
DIET: Its diet consists of other fish and even terrestrial animals, including birds.
REPRODUCTION: This species practices oral incubation. Its reproduction has adapted to the great fluctuations of its environment, as it lays eggs in February and April, when the water level is low, and to do so it builds a nest of some 50 cm. width and 15cm depth, usually in sandy areas. When the water level goes up, the eggs hatch in the rainy season.
CURIOSITIES: Its osseous tongue can be used dried and combined with grated guarana bark, then placed in water to kill intestinal parasites. It is also used to sand wood and manufacture instruments, and their scales can be used as nail files. Its meat is food. It is easy to hunt as it emerges to breathe; usually it is struck and then harpooned.