Piaractus | |
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Juvenile Piaractus brachypomus | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Actinopterygii |
Order: | Characiformes |
Family: | Serrasalmidae |
Genus: | Piaractus C. H. Eigenmann, 1903 |
Type species | |
Myletes brachypomus G. Cuvier, 1817
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Piaractus is a genus of large serrasalmid from South America.[1] The two traditionally recognized species of Piaractus are very similar in appearance and were formerly included in the genus Colossoma, which currently only contains another similar species, the tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum).[2][3] A third Piaractus was described in 2019 as a new species, but it was formerly considered a subpopulation of P. brachypomus.[4]