Average lifespan
Status: captivity: 6.5 years.
Osteoglossum bicirrhosum are characterized by remarkable scale arrangements in which the scales are large, stout, bony and ornamented in a way that the radii form a course pattern. The scales are a pearly silver in color and change to reds, blues and greens as the fish ages. They are also well known for their bony tongue, after which it is named. Osteoglossum bicirrhosum are laterally compressed with a huge oblique mouth. Many oral bones bear teeth, including the jaw, palate, tongue and pharynx. They reach a maximum length of about 120 cm.
Average mass: 4600 g.
Range length: 120 (high) cm.
Other Physical Features: ectothermic ; heterothermic ; bilateral symmetry
Average mass: 2530 g.
Osteoglossum bicirrhosum live in both the white and black water floodplains of the Amazon as documented in a recent study of the fish communities. In both types of water they were most abundant in the flooded/swamp areas. Osteoglossum bicirrhosum are usually found in the shallower of these waters because of their predatory behavior.
Habitat Regions: tropical ; freshwater
Aquatic Biomes: rivers and streams
Osteoglossum bicirrhosum are native to the Amazon drainage system, the western Orinoco and the Rupununi and Essequibo systems of the Guianas. When found in other locations it is because of introduction by man. For example, they have been introduced in secluded areas of California and Nevada. It is also thought that the fish have not distributed themselves further up river because they cannot pass through rapids successfully.
Biogeographic Regions: neotropical (Native )
Osteoglossum bicirrhosum are not picky eaters. In a study of their stomach contents, the majority of food items included insects and spiders, most of which were beetles. Also found in the stomachs were crabs, snails, fish, birds, snakes, monkey feces and plant material. It is thought that the snakes and monkey feces were consumed during a flooding. The plant material was probably a result of the predatory behavior of the fish, as explained below (Goulding 1980).
Osteoglossum bicirrhosum are of great economic value to the local fisherman. According to Junk (1976) these fish provide the largest source of protein in comparison to other Amazon fish. Also, because of its low fat content, they are considered the most digestable and least likely to bring about sickness. Osteoglossum bicirrhosum are also of great value in the aquarium business, as noted by the sale of them on many commercial internet sites (Foeshe 2000, Smith 1981).
Unknown
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: no special status
Perception Channels: tactile ; chemical
Osteoglossum bicirrhosum is thought by the Caboclo people of the Amazon to be very beneficial to women after they have recently given birth. In fact, they are one of the few things women are allowed to eat during this vulnerable point in life (Goulding 1980).
Osteoglossum bicirrhosum spawn at the beginning of the floods, December and January. The females produce a rather small number of large eggs. The males carry the eggs, larvae and early juveniles in their mouths until the yolk sac has been absorbed, which is about 2 months.
Breeding interval: These fish breed once a year.
Breeding season: Osteoglossum bicirrhosum spawn at the beginning of the floods, December and January
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; fertilization (External ); oviparous
The silver arowana (Osteoglossum bicirrhosum) is a South American freshwater bony fish of the family Osteoglossidae. Silver arowanas are sometimes kept in aquariums, but they are predatory and require a very large tank.[1]
The generic name Osteoglossum means "bone-tongued" and the specific name bicirrhosum means "two barbels" (from the Greek language).
This South American species is native to the Amazon, Essequibo and Oyapock basins.[2][3] It is absent from the Rio Negro basin, except the Branco River, which is inhabited by both silver and black arowanas.[3]
The silver arowana occurs in both black- and whitewater habitats, including flooded forests.[1][4]
This fish has relatively large scales, a long body, and a tapered tail, with the dorsal and anal fins extending all the way to the small caudal fin, with which they are nearly fused. Its maximum total length is typically considered to be 0.9 m (3.0 ft),[2] but there are reports of individuals up to 1.2 m (3.9 ft).[1] Unlike the black arowana, the silver arowana has the same coloring throughout its lifespan. Adults of the two species are very similar, but can be separated by meristics.[5]
Arowanas are sometimes called 'dragon fish' by aquarists because their shiny, armor-like scales and double barbels are reminiscent of descriptions of dragons in East Asian folklore.
The species is also called 'water monkey' because of its ability to jump out of the water and capture its prey. It usually swims near the water surface waiting for potential prey. Although specimens have been found with the remains of birds, bats,[6] mice,[7] and snakes in their stomachs, its main diet consists of snails,[8] crustaceans (such as crabs),[9] insects (such as beetles), spiders,[10] smaller fish, and other animals that float on the water surface, which its drawbridge-like mouth is exclusively adapted for feeding on.
The silver arowana is not currently listed on CITES appendix [11] nor on the 2004 IUCN Red List.[12] It is one of the most popular ornamental fish from South America, however, and therefore its conservation status merits attention.[13]
As reported by Environment News Service in August 2005, shared use of the silver arowana population was a cause for a dispute between Brazilian and Colombian authorities. Juvenile silver arowanas are caught in Colombia for sale as aquarium fish, while the people of Brazilian Amazonia catch adult fish for food. A sharp drop in the number of arowanas had caused Brazilian authorities to prohibit fishing of them between September 1 and November 15; the Colombians would prohibit capturing them between November 1 and March 15.[14]
The silver arowana is often kept as a pet by experienced aquarists, being considered an accessible substitute for the Asian arowana, which is listed on CITES Appendix I and is therefore difficult and expensive to obtain legally.
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Media related to Silver arowana at Wikimedia CommonsThe silver arowana (Osteoglossum bicirrhosum) is a South American freshwater bony fish of the family Osteoglossidae. Silver arowanas are sometimes kept in aquariums, but they are predatory and require a very large tank.
The generic name Osteoglossum means "bone-tongued" and the specific name bicirrhosum means "two barbels" (from the Greek language).
