Tambaqui

Tambaqui
Temporal range: Miocene - recent
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Characiformes
Family: Serrasalmidae
Genus: Colossoma
C. H. Eigenmann & C. H. Kennedy, 1903
Species:
C. macropomum
Binomial name
Colossoma macropomum
(G. Cuvier, 1818)
Synonyms
  • Myletes macropomus Cuvier, 1816
  • Myletes oculus Cope, 1872
  • Myletes nigripinnis Cope, 1878
  • Melloina tambaqui Amaral Campos, 1946

The tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum) is a large species of freshwater fish in the family Serrasalmidae. It is native to tropical South America, but kept in aquaculture and introduced elsewhere.[1] It is also known by the names black pacu, black-finned pacu, giant pacu, cachama, gamitana, and sometimes as pacu (a name used for several other related species).

The tambaqui is currently the only member of Colossoma, but the Piaractus species were also included in this genus in the past.[2]

  1. ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Colossoma macropomum". FishBase. July 2007 version.
  2. ^ OPEFE (27 December 2011). Genus Piaractus. Retrieved 2 March 2017.