Osteoglossum

Osteoglossum is a genus of fish in the family Osteoglossidae. They reach about 1 m (3.3 ft) in length and are restricted to freshwater habitats in tropical South America.[1][2]

Osteoglossum
Osteoglossum bicirrhosum
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Osteoglossiformes
Family: Osteoglossidae
Genus: Osteoglossum
Cuvier, 1829
Species

2, see text

These predators mostly feed on arthropods like insects and spiders, but may also take small vertebrates such as other fish, frogs, lizards, snakes, mice, bats and small birds.[3][4] They jump up to 2 m (6.6 ft) out of the water to pick the prey off branches, tree trunks or foliage, which has earned them the local name "water monkeys".[3] They are the largest fish in the world that catch most of their food out of water.[3] When breeding, the male protects the eggs and young by carrying them in the mouth.[1][5]

They are sometimes kept in aquariums, but they are predatory and require a very large tank.[5]

Species

There are two species:[2]

ImageScientific nameCommon NameDistribution
Osteoglossum bicirrhosum Cuvier (ex Vandelli), 1829Silver arowanaAmazon, Essequibo and Oyapock basins
Osteoglossum ferreirai Kanazawa, 1966Black arowanaRio Negro basin, including the Branco River

References
  1. Olivares; Hrbek; Escobar; Caballero (2013). "Population structure of the black arowana (Osteoglossum ferreirai) in Brazil and Colombia: implications for its management". Conserv. Genet. 14 (3): 695–703. doi:10.1007/s10592-013-0463-1. S2CID 16841836.
  2. Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2017). Species of Osteoglossum in FishBase. February 2017 version.
  3. Carvalho, L.N.; J. Zuanon; I. Sazima (2007). "Natural history of Amazon fishes". In Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (ed.). Tropical Biology and Natural Resources Theme. Vol. 1. Eolss Publishers, Oxford. pp. 1–24.
  4. Julia Tovar Verba; Manoela Lima de Oliveira Borges; Maria Nazareth Ferreira da Silva; Lorena Costa Pinto; José Gurgel Rabello Neto (2018). "Mice on menu: opportunistic feeding behaviour of the Amazonian silver arowana Osteoglossum bicirrhosum". Journal of Fish Biology. 93 (1): 132–133. doi:10.1111/jfb.13665. PMID 29934944. S2CID 49378286.
  5. Hill, N. (13 June 2016). "Predators: South American Arowana". Practical Fishkeeping. Retrieved 25 October 2017.


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