clipped from: animals.nationalgeographic.com   

Arapaima
Arapaima gigas

Arapaima range
Image: Arapaima range
Photo: Arapaima fish and diver
Type: Fish
Diet: Carnivore
Average lifespan in captivity: 15 to 20 years
Size: Up to 9 ft (2.75 m)
Weight: 440 lbs (200 kg)
Did you know? The arapaima has a "bony" tongue fitted with a set of teeth, which some indigenous people use as a scraping tool.

Fast Facts

Also known as the paiche or the pirarucu, the arapaima is an air-breathing fish that plies the rain forest rivers of South America's Amazon Basin and nearby lakes and swamps. One of the world's largest freshwater fish, these giants can reach 9 feet (2.75 meters) long and weigh up to 440 pounds (200 kilograms). They have a wide, scaly, gray body and a tapered head.

Though arapaimas can stay underwater for 10 to 20 minutes, they tend to remain near the water's surface, where they hunt and emerge often to breathe with a distinctive coughing noise. They survive mainly on fish but are known to occasionally grab birds close to the water's surface.

Arapaima Profile