Arapaima gigas

Arapaima gigas
Beijing Aquarium, China
CITES Appendix II (CITES)[2]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Osteoglossiformes
Family: Osteoglossidae
Genus: Arapaima
Species:
A. gigas
Binomial name
Arapaima gigas
(Schinz, 1822)
Synonyms
  • Sudis gigas Schinz, 1822
  • Sudis gigas G. Cuvier, 1829 (ambiguous)
  • Arapaima gigas (G. Cuvier, 1829) (ambiguous)
  • Sudis pirarucu Spix & Agassiz, 1829 (ambiguous)
  • Vastres mapae Valenciennes, 1847
  • Vastres cuvieri Valenciennes, 1847
  • Vastres agassizii Valenciennes, 1847
  • Vastres arapaima Valenciennes, 1847

Arapaima gigas, also known as pirarucu or simply arapaima,[3] is a species of arapaima native to the basin of the Amazon River. Once believed to be the sole species in the genus, it is among the largest freshwater fish. The species is an obligate air breather, so it needs to come to the surface regularly to breathe air.

  1. ^ World Conservation Monitoring Centre (1996). "Arapaima gigas". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 1996: e.T1991A9110195. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.1996.RLTS.T1991A9110195.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Archived from the original on 2021-01-19. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference arkive was invoked but never defined (see the help page).