Arawana
Osteoglossum bicirrhosum
FAMILY
Osteoglossidae
TAXONOMY
Osteoglossum bicirrhosum Cuvier, 1829, Amazon River.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
English: Silver aruana, aruana; German: Arabuana, Gabelbart.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Maximum size 3.3 ft (1 m). Large-scaled, elongate fishes, laterally compressed with straight dorsal provile and large gape. Very long anal and dorsal fins nearly joining the caudal fin. Prominent barbels at the tip of the chin.
DISTRIBUTION
Amazon River system and French Guiana.
HABITAT
Surface-orientated, live in open, slow-moving or stagnant water, preferably at the shore zone.
BEHAVIOR
Day active, spends most of the day patrolling very close to the surface.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Omnivorous, mainly eat invertebrates, or fishes to a lower percentage. Frequently jump out of the water to seize small vertebrates and large (particularly terrestrial) insects.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Reproduction takes place at the beginning of the floods, in general in December and January. About 200 large eggs 0.63 in (16 mm) in diameter are incubated in the males' mouth for 50–60 days. When released, juveniles are 3.15–3.93 in (8–10 cm) long.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not listed by the IUCN.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
An important food fish of Amazonia. Of special value in caboclo (person of mixed Brazilian, Indian, European, or African ancestry) folklore because it is one of the few species that women are allowed to eat postpartum; other species, especially catfishes, are thought to cause inflammation if eaten in times of illness and recovery.
