Classification / Names
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa
Teleostei (teleosts) >
Osteoglossiformes (Bony tongues) >
Arapaimidae (Bonytongues)
Etymology: Arapaima: From tupí-guaraní, arapaima (Ref. 45335).
Eponymy: Jean Louis Rudolphe Agassiz (1807–1873) was a Swiss-American geologist, glaciologist and zoologist whose speciality was ichthyology. [...] (Ref. 128868), visit book page.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; benthopelagic. Tropical
South America: known only from the holotype from Brazilian Amazon.
Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Short description
Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics
Can be diagnosed from its congeners by possessing the following characters: 44 dentary teeth, counted on single ramous only; 43 maxillary teeth; orbit diameter 1.5, relatively small compared to similar-sized individuals; interorbital width 4.1, relatively narrow; parietals with pronounced posterior projections that are pointed and curve slightly toward the midline; caudal fin widely separated from dorsal and anal fins by relatively long caudal peduncle, 9.7; caudal-peduncle length divided by peduncle depth 2.4; 26 anal-fin rays, with distinctly shorter basal length than that of dorsal fin; dorsal and anal fins extremely low in profile (dorsal-fin base divided by longest dorsal-fin ray about 7; longest dorsal-fin ray in anterior third of fin); and first pectoral-fin ray not (or only slightly) enlarged in diameter and with proximal tip similar in form to second and subsequent pectoral-fin rays. Can be further distinguished from Arapaima gigas by having single row of small teeth on dentary (vs. 2-2.5 rows of enlarged teeth in A. gigas ) (Ref. 93668).
Obligate air-breathing (Ref. 126274)
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Stewart, D.J., 2013. Re-description of Arapaima agassizii (Valenciennes), a rare fish from Brazil (Osteoglossomorpha: Osteoglossidae). Copeia 2013(1):38-51. (Ref. 93668)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-2)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5938 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00389 (0.00180 - 0.00842), b=3.12 (2.94 - 3.30), in cm total length, based on all LWR estimates for this body shape (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 3.4 ±0.4 se; based on size and trophs of closest relatives
Resilience (Ref.
120179): Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (Preliminary K or Fecundity.).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Very high vulnerability (90 of 100).
