The most creepy and dangerous inhabitants of the Amazon. River world of the Amazon and Orinoco Predatory fish living in the Amazon

The Amazon is home to many thousands of species of fish that are found nowhere else in the world. The largest fish in the Amazon, which was named by local residents as arapaima, is a real giant, and some scientists classify this species as one of the largest of those that live in freshwater rivers.

The freshwater arapaima is the largest fish in the Amazon, as it can reach approximately 2.5-3 m in length and weigh more than 200 kg. Despite the fact that 100 years ago large fish of this species were not a rare prey for local fishermen, nowadays even individuals weighing 50 kg are rarely found. The popularity of catching arapaima is explained by the fact that the meat of this fish has excellent taste. The gradual decline of the arapaima population in the waters of the Amazon has attracted the attention of scientists to this species. Large arapaima are most often found in the Brazilian and Peruvian Amazon, but scientists believe that adult fish can move along the river bed, migrating for seasonal spawning in more clear waters. Arapaima are found throughout the Amazon, but not so often.

In fact, the arapaima is a truly amazing creature, because despite its large size, it can survive in fresh water, where the oxygen saturation level is not too high. The whole point is that this amazing fish able to breathe not only through gills. She has a primitive lung, which allows her to compensate for the lack of oxygen necessary to nourish the tissues of such a large body. Arapaima, living in different parts of the Amazon, come up to breathe air every 20-30 minutes. Large individuals of arapaima prefer quiet backwaters, the total area of ​​which does not exceed 140 m, of which there are many along the entire length of the river. It is the fact that this large fish lives in shallow backwaters, which are not very large, that makes it extremely vulnerable to fishermen.

The arapaima feeds mainly on bottom fish and crustaceans, but may also include in its diet some fruits that fall in abundance into the river during a flood. This fish has excellent hearing and sense of smell, so it can smell ripe fruits in the water even from a great distance. Adult arapaima are very caring parents. During the breeding season, which falls in November for these fish, they move closer to the sandy shores, where they dig a small depression where the female plays. After this, the male is constantly on duty near the hole with eggs, and the female drives away the fish that try to get closer. Thus, fish provide reliable protection for future generations. After hatching, the juveniles stay near the head of the adult and even rise to breathe with the parent. Only after 3-4 months the connection weakens, and the juveniles begin an independent life.

The abundance of food in the Amazon River causes arapaima to grow rapidly and gain weight. The number of arapaima in the waters of the Amazon is gradually decreasing, since if previously only large individuals were exterminated when hunting with harpoons, now the use of modern nets has made it possible to catch juveniles.

The giant arapaima is one of the largest and most little-studied fish in the world. Those descriptions of fish that are found in the literature are borrowed mainly from unreliable stories of travelers.

It’s even strange how little has been done so far to deepen our knowledge of the biology and behavior of the arapaima. For years it was mercilessly fished both in the Peruvian and Brazilian parts of the Amazon, and in its many tributaries. At the same time, no one cared about studying it or thought about preserving it. The schools of fish seemed inexhaustible. And only when the number of fish began to noticeably decrease did interest in it appear.

Arapaima is one of the largest freshwater fish in the world. Representatives of this species live in the Amazon River basin in Brazil, Guyana and Peru. Adults reach 2.5 m in length and weigh up to 200 kg. The uniqueness of arapaima is its ability to breathe air. Due to its archaic morphology, the fish is considered a living fossil. In Brazil, its fishing is allowed only once a year. Initially, fish were caught using harpoons when they rose to breathe on the surface.

Today it is caught mainly with nets. Let's look at this in more detail..

In the photo: a view of the Amazon river from the window of the Cessna 208 amphibious aircraft that brought photographer Bruno Kelly from Manaus to the village of Medio Jurua, municipality of Carauari, Amazonas state, Brazil, September 3, 2012.

In Brazil, giant fish were placed in ponds in the hope that they would take root there. In eastern Peru, in the jungles of Loreto province, certain areas of rivers and a number of lakes are left as a reserve fund. Fishing here is allowed only with a license from the Ministry of Agriculture.

Arapaima lives throughout the Amazon basin. To the east it is found in two areas separated by the black and acidic waters of the Rio Negro. There are no arapaima in the Rio Negro, but the river does not seem to be an insurmountable barrier for the fish. Otherwise, one would have to assume the existence of two species of fish, having different origins and living north and south of this river.

The western area of ​​distribution of the arapaima is probably Rio Moro, to the east of it is Rio Pastaza and Lake Rimachi, where a huge amount of fish is found. This is Peru's second protected breeding and observation pond for arapaima.

An adult arapaima is colored very picturesquely: the color of its back varies from bluish-black to metallic green, its belly - from cream to greenish-white, its sides and tail are silver-gray. Each of its huge scales shimmers in every possible shade of red (in Brazil the fish is called pirarucu, which means red fish).

Rocking in time with the movements of the fishermen, a small canoe floated along the mirror-like surface of the Amazon. Suddenly the water at the bow of the boat began to swirl like a whirlpool, and the mouth of a giant fish stuck out, exhaling air with a whistle. The fishermen looked in shock at the monster, twice the height of a man, covered with a scaly shell. And the giant splashed his blood-red tail - and disappeared into the depths...

If a Russian fisherman told such a thing, he would immediately be laughed at. Who is not familiar with fishing tales: either a giant fish falls off a hook, or the local Nessie appears in your dreams. But in the Amazon, meeting a giant is a reality.

Arapaima is one of the largest freshwater fish. There were specimens 4.5 m long! Nowadays you don't see such people. Since 1978, the record has been held in the Rio Negro River (Brazil), where an arapaima was caught with data of 2.48 m - 147 kg (the price of a kilogram of tender and delicious meat, which has almost no bones, far exceeds the monthly income of Amazonian fishermen. IN North America it can be seen in antique stores).

This strange creature looks like a representative of the era of dinosaurs. Yes, it is true: a living fossil has not changed in 135 million years. The tropical Goliath has adapted to the swampy swamps of the Amazon basin: a bladder attached to the esophagus acts like a lung, the arapaima pokes out of the water every 10-15 minutes. She, as it were, “patrolls” the Amazon basin, captures small fish in her mouth and grinds them with the help of a bony, rough tongue ( local residents use it as sandpaper).

These giants live in freshwater bodies of South America, in particular in the eastern and western parts of the Amazon River basin (in the Rio Morona, Rio Pastaza and Lake Rimachi rivers). A huge number of arapaima are found in these places. There is not much of this fish in the Amazon itself, because... she prefers quiet rivers with a weak current and a lot of vegetation. A body of water with rugged banks and a large number of floating plants is an ideal place for its habitat and existence.

According to local residents, this fish can reach 4 meters in length and weigh about 200 kilograms. But arapaima is a valuable commercial fish, so now such huge specimens are practically impossible to find in nature. Nowadays, most often we come across specimens no more than 2-2.5 meters. But still giants can be found, for example, in special aquariums or nature reserves.

Previously, arapaima was caught in large quantities and did not think about its population. Now, when the stocks of these fish have noticeably decreased, in some countries of South America, for example in eastern Peru, there are areas of rivers and lakes that are strictly protected and fishing in these places is allowed only with a license from the Ministry of Agriculture. And even then in limited quantities.

An adult can reach 3-4 meters. The powerful body of the fish is covered with large scales that shimmer various shades red This is especially noticeable in its tail part. For this, local residents gave the fish another name - pirarucu, which translates as “red fish”. The fish themselves have different colors - from “metallic green” to bluish-black.

Hers is very unusual respiratory system. The pharynx and swim bladder of the fish are covered with lung tissue, which allows the fish to breathe normal air. This adaptation has developed due to the low oxygen content in the waters of these freshwater rivers. Thanks to this, arapaima can easily survive drought.

The breathing style of this fish cannot be confused with anyone else. When they rise to the surface for a breath of fresh air, small whirlpools begin to form on the water surface, and then the fish itself appears in this place with a huge open mouth. All this action lasts literally a couple of seconds. She releases the “old” air and takes a new sip, her mouth suddenly closes and goes into the depths. Adults breathe like this every 10-15 minutes, young ones - a little more often.

These fish have special glands on their heads that secrete special mucus. But you’ll find out what it’s for a little later.

These giants feed on bottom fish, and sometimes they can snack on small animals, such as birds. For juveniles, the main dish is freshwater shrimp.

The breeding season of pirarucu occurs in November. But they begin to create pairs already in August-September. These giants are very caring parents, especially the males. Here I immediately remembered how male “sea dragons” take care of their offspring. These fish are not far behind them. The male digs a shallow hole with a diameter of about 50 centimeters near the shore. The female lays eggs in it. Then, throughout the entire period of development and maturation of the eggs, the male remains next to the clutch. He guards the eggs and swims next to the “nest,” while the females drive away the fish swimming nearby.

A week later the fry are born. The male is still next to them. Or maybe they are with him? The young stay in a dense flock near his head, and they even rise together to breathe. But how does a male manage to discipline his children like that? There is a secret. Remember, I mentioned special glands on the heads of adults. So, the mucus that is secreted by these glands contains a stable substance that attracts fry. This is what makes them stick together. But after 2.5-3 months, when the young animals grow a little, these flocks break up. The bond between parents and children weakens.

Once upon a time, the meat of these monsters was the staple food of the peoples of the Amazon. Since the late 1960s, arapaima have disappeared completely in many rivers: after all, only large fish were killed with a harpoon, but nets made it possible to catch small ones. The government has banned the sale of arapaima less than one and a half meters long, but the taste, which can only be rivaled by trout and salmon, pushes people to break the law. Breeding arapaima in artificial pools with heated water is promising: they grow as much as five times faster than carp!

However, here is the opinion of K. X. Luling:

The literature of past legions significantly exaggerates the size of the arapaima. These exaggerations began, to some extent, with the descriptions of R. Chaumbourk in the book “Fishes of British Guiana,” written after a trip to Guiana in 1836. Shom-Bourke writes that the fish can reach a length of 14 feet (ft = 0.305 meters) and weigh up to 400 pounds (pound = 0.454 kilograms). However, this information was received by the author second-hand - from the words of the local population - he personally did not have evidence to support such data. In a well-known book on the fishes of the world, McCormick expresses doubts about the reliability of these stories. After analyzing all the available and more or less reliable information, he comes to the conclusion that representatives of the arapaima species never exceed a length of 9 feet - a fairly respectable size for a freshwater fish.

On own experience I was convinced that McCormick was right. The animals we caught in Rio Pacaya averaged 6 feet in length. The largest fish was a female, 7 feet long and weighing 300 pounds. Obviously, the illustration from old editions of Brem's book Animal Life, which depicted an Indian sitting on the back of a pirarucu, 12 to 15 feet long, should be considered an obvious fantasy.

The distribution of arapaima in certain areas of the river seems to depend more on the vegetation growing there than on the nature of the water itself. For fish, a strongly indented shore with a wide strip of coastal floating plants, which, intertwined, form floating meadows, is necessary.

For this reason alone, rivers with fast current, like the Amazon, are unsuitable for the existence of arapaima. The bottom of the Amazon always remains smooth and uniform, so there are few floating plants here; those that exist are usually tangled among bushes and hanging branches.

On Rio Pacaya we found arapaima in backwaters where, in addition to floating meadows of aquatic grasses, floating mimosas and hyacinths grew. Elsewhere these species may have been replaced by floating ferns, Victoria regia and a few others. The giant fish between the plants is invisible.

It is perhaps not surprising that arapaima prefer to breathe air rather than the oxygen of the swampy waters in which they live.

The arapaima's way of inhaling air is very characteristic. When a large fish approaches the surface, a whirlpool first forms on the water surface. Then suddenly the fish itself appears with open mouth. She quickly releases air, making a clicking sound, and inhales Fresh air and immediately plunges into the depths.

Fishermen hunting for arapaima use the whirlpool that forms on the surface of the water to determine where to throw the harpoon. They throw theirs heavy weapon right in the middle of the whirlpool and in most cases they miss the target. But the point is that giant fish often lives in small bodies of water, 60-140 meters long, and whirlpools are constantly formed here, and therefore the likelihood of a harpoon hitting an animal increases. Adults appear on the surface every 10-15 minutes, young ones more often.

Having reached a certain size, arapaima switches to the fish table, specializing mainly in bottom-shelled fish. The stomachs of arapaima most often contain barbed needles. pectoral fins these fish.

In Rio Pacaya, obviously, the living conditions for the Arapaima are the most favorable. The fish that live here reach maturity within four to five years. By this time, they are approximately six feet long and weigh between 80 and 100 pounds. It is believed (although not proven) that some, and perhaps all, adults breed twice a year.

One day I was lucky enough to observe a pair of arapaima preparing for spawning. Everything happened in the clear and still waters of the quiet bay of Rio Pacai. The behavior of arapaima during spawning and their subsequent care of the offspring is truly an amazing sight.

In all likelihood, the fish dig out the spawning hole in the soft clay bottom with its mouth. In the quiet bay where we made observations, the fish chose a spawning site located only five feet below the surface. For several days the male remained within this place, and the female almost all the time stayed 10-15 meters away from him.

The young, having hatched from the eggs, remain in the hole for about seven days. A male is always near them, either circling above the hole or perched on the side. After this, the fry rise to the surface, relentlessly following the male and keeping in a dense flock near his head. Under the supervision of the father, the entire flock rises to the surface at once to inhale the air.

At the age of seven to eight days, the fry begin to feed on plankton. Watching the fish through the still waters of our quiet bay, we did not notice that the fish raised their young “into the mouth”, that is, they would take the fish into their mouths in a moment of danger. There was also no evidence that the larvae fed on the substance secreted from the plate-shaped gills located on the heads of the parents. The local population makes a clear mistake in assuming that the young animals feed on their parents’ “milk”.

In November 1959, I was able to count 11 schools of juvenile fish in a lake of about 160 acres (an acre is about 0.4 hectares). They swam close to the shore and parallel to it. The flocks seemed to be avoiding the wind. This is probably due to the fact that the waves generated by the wind make it difficult to inhale air from the surface of the water.

We decided to see what would happen to a school of fish if it suddenly lost its parents, and we caught them. The orphaned fish, having lost contact with their parents, have obviously lost contact with each other. The close flock began to break up and eventually dispersed. After some time, we noticed that the juveniles in other flocks differed significantly from each other in size. Such a large contrast could hardly be explained by the fact that the same generation of fish developed differently. Apparently other arapaima adopted the orphans. Expanding their swimming circle after the death of their parents, the orphaned school of fish spontaneously mixed with neighboring groups.

On the head of the arapaima there are glands of a very interesting structure. On the outside, they have a whole series of small tongue-like protrusions, at the ends of which, with the help of a magnifying glass, tiny holes can be discerned. The mucus formed in the glands is released through these openings.

The secretion of these glands is not used as food, although it would seem that this is the simplest and most obvious explanation of its purpose. She does much more important functions. Here's an example. When we pulled the male out of the water, the flock accompanying him for a long time remained in the very place from which he disappeared. And one more thing: a flock of juveniles gathers around a gauze pad, previously soaked in the male’s secretions. From both examples it follows that the male secretes a relatively stable substance, thanks to which the whole group stays together.

At the age of two and a half to three and a half months, flocks of young animals begin to disintegrate. By this time, the connection between parents and children weakens.

Residents of the village of Medio Jurua display a gutted piraruca at Lake Manaria, Carauari municipality, Amazonas state, Brazil, September 3, 2012. Pirarucu is the largest freshwater fish in South America.

While fishing, residents of the village of Medio Jurua caught a caiman in a net. Villagers go fishing for pirarucu on Lake Manaria, Carauari municipality, Amazonas state, Brazil, September 3, 2012. Pirarucu is the largest freshwater fish in South America.

The Amazon rainforest is a vast ecosystem that provides habitat for such strange and beautiful creatures as the jaguar, the poison dart frog, and helmed basilisk. But this environment is home to more than just animals that prowl, swing and slide through the trees. IN troubled waters The Amazon River, the deepest river in the whole world, is home to such amazing and terrible creatures that the sight of their jaws is more terrible than some jaws floating in the marine environment.

10. Black caimans (lat. Melanosuchus niger)

Photo. Black caiman

The black caiman is like an alligator on steroids. It can grow up to six meters in size and has a larger and heavier skull than the same Nile crocodile, and in Amazonian waters it is at the top of the food chain. What this means is that they are primarily kings of rivers, eating almost anything they can get their teeth on, including groupers, piranhas, monkeys, anacondas and deer.

And, of course, they are capable of attacking people, which happens periodically. In early 2010, biologist Diis Nishimura was attacked by a caiman while cleaning fish on her houseboat, and although she managed to fight it off, she lost one of her legs. This particular caiman had been waiting for her under the houseboat for nine months, apparently waiting to strike.

9. Giant anacondas(lat. Eunectes murinus)

Photo. Green anaconda

Continuing the topic of gigantic reptiles, we should remember the big snake all over the world, living in the Amazon: anaconda. Although reticulated pythons are actually considered to be the longest snakes, green anacondas are much heavier; females are generally larger than their male counterparts and are capable of growing up to nine meters (over 29 feet) in length, gaining 250 kilograms (550 pounds) in weight, and reaching 30 centimeters (12 inches) in diameter. Is not Poisonous snakes, but instead of venom, they rely on their enormous muscular strength to squeeze and strangle their prey, which can include capybaras, caiman, deer and even jaguar. She likes shallow water, which allows her to stealthily sneak up on her prey. As a rule, these snakes live in the tributaries of the Amazon, and not in the main channel of the river.

8. Arapaima (lat. Arapaima)

Photo. Caught arapaima

Arapaima, according to the IGFA world record, is the largest fish living in water bodies. Arapaima, also known as "pirarucu" or "paiche", are giant carnivorous fish that live in the Amazon and nearby lakes. Being studded with armored scales, they do not hover and live in waters saturated with piranhas, since they are quite agile predators that eat fish and randomly passing birds. As a rule, arapaima are located near the surface because they need to breathe regular air and also obtain oxygen from the water using their gills. They make a characteristic cough when they appear on the surface. The arapaima's proximity to the surface of the water makes it vulnerable to human hunters, who can easily attack with harpoons. Some indigenous communities consume the meat and tongue of the arapaima, turning it into jewelry and other items.

They grow up to 2.6 meters in size and weigh around 90 kilograms (200 pounds). These fish are so dangerous that even their tongue is studded with teeth.

7. Giant otters (lat. Pteronura brasiliensis)

Photo. Giant otter

The name itself says it all, these animals are very large, and they are indeed very large otters. They are the longest of the 13 otter species, with adult males measuring up to two meters (more than six feet) in length (from head to tail end). It is difficult to distinguish between male and female giant otters because there is no fundamental difference in head or body size. This species can make up to nine different sounds and it can be very loud.

Their diet primarily consists of crabs and fish, which they catch in family groups of two to seven individuals, and are capable of eating up to four kilograms (nine pounds) of seafood in a day. Don't be fooled by their cute faces, they are more deserving of being on this list than any other animal as they have been observed to kill and eat anacondas in groups. They are also capable of giving a serious rebuff to a caiman. One day, a family of otters was spotted eating a 1.5-metre (5-foot) caiman, which took them approximately 45 minutes. Although their numbers are declining, largely due to human activity, they are one of the most advanced predators in tropical forest Amazonia.

6. Common Vandellia (lat. Vandellia cirrhosa)

Photo. Kandiru

However, candiru prefer other fish; with the help of spines they attach themselves inside the gills of larger individuals and feed on the blood of their host.

5. Blunt sharks (lat. Carcharhinus leucas)

Photo. Snout shark

Considering that, technically, animals that live in the ocean cannot be in fresh water, this does not apply to blunt-nosed sharks, since they thrive in both sea (salt) and river (fresh) water. They were found very far in the depths of the Amazon, almost 4,500 kilometers (2,800 miles) from the sea. This fish has special kidneys that can recognize differences in salinity and adapt accordingly. And you definitely don’t want to meet such a fish in river water. They typically grow to a size of 3.1 meters, and these sharks have been reported to weigh 312 kilograms (690 pounds). Like many sharks, they have several rows of sharp, triangular-shaped teeth and extremely powerful jaws, capable of clenching with a force of 589 kilograms (1,300 pounds). It's also worth mentioning that this species of shark is particularly unfriendly towards humans, as they are one of the top three sharks that attack humans most often (along with great white and tiger sharks). Also given their habit of swimming near densely populated areas, this has led many experts to call them.

4. Electric eels (lat. Electrophorus electricus)

Photo. Experiments with the electric eel

In fact electric eel much closer to catfish than eels, but you probably don't want to be near one to find out. Reaching a size of 2.5 meters (8 feet), they are capable of generating discharges of electricity using special cells, called electrocytes, located on the sides. These electrical discharges can reach up to 600 volts, this discharge is enough to cause a horse to give way and fall. While shock alone is not enough to kill the average healthy person, multiple shocks can cause the heart and lungs to collapse, and shock is usually what causes people to drown. That's why .

Most of the disappearances reported in the Amazon have been linked to eels, which put their victims into a state of shock and leave them to drown in the river. Fortunately for us, this type of eel tends to adhere to a diet consisting of amphibians, fish, small mammals and birds. They find their prey by emitting small 10-volt electrical discharges from their electrocytes, after which they stun or kill them.

3. Common piranhas(lat. Pygocentrus nattereri)

Photo. Piranha

This is the true horror of the Amazon River, this animal is so feared that it has become the inspiration for many dubious Hollywood films. But in fact, the common (red-bellied) piranha feeds on carrion. But this does not mean that they are not capable of attacking living beings; after all, it is worth considering that they are capable of growing in length over 30 centimeters (12 inches) and swimming in a composition large groups. Like all piranhas, red-bellied piranhas have incredibly sharp teeth, lined up in a single row on each of their powerful lower and upper jaws. These teeth compress with great force, which is why they are ideal weapons for tearing and eating flesh. Their fearsome reputation is largely fueled by rumors of their "mad feast", where a group of piranhas gather around an unlucky victim and devour him to the bone in a matter of minutes. Such attacks rarely occur and are usually the result of starvation or provocation.

2. Payara (vampire fish, lat. Hydrolycus armatus)

Photo. Payara teeth

Anything called a “vampire fish” is automatically associated with a scary animal, and the payara is no exception. These fish are incredibly ferocious predators, capable of eating fish up to half their size. Considering that they can reach up to 1.3 meters (four feet) in length, this does not mean that this is the limit. They mainly like to eat piranhas, which may give you some insight into how tough these sharp-toothed beasts can be. They get their name from the two fangs that grow from the lower jaw and they are capable of growing up to 14 centimeters (six inches) in length. The fish use them to literally impale their prey, and then viciously tear them to pieces. In fact, their fangs are so large that they have special holes in the upper jaw designed to prevent themselves from being pierced.

This voracious carnivore is fast and aggressive. They, as a rule, leave small fish in their mouths, and then, skillfully maneuvering, begin to swallow. However, if the prey is too large, payaras may cut it into smaller pieces first and then swallow it.

1. Pacu (lat. Colossoma macropomum)

Photo. Paku teeth

Certainly more dangerous to males than females, this animal is the pacu, which is larger than its closest relative, the piranha, and is known for its distinctive human-like teeth. They are very similar to the piranha, but have flatter, stronger teeth designed for crushing, and one fisherman reportedly died after having his testicles bitten off.

Fish expert Henrik Karl said pacu are not usually dangerous to people, but they do have a "pretty serious bite". He said: “There have been cases in other countries, such as Papau New Guinea, where some men have had their testicles bitten off. They bite because they are hungry, and the testicles are good for that. They usually eat nuts, fruits and fish, but human testicles are just a natural target."

Oh, and don't worry if you can't get to the Amazon to see these monsters, they can already be found in Europe, where they have already begun to breed.

The Amazon rainforest has long been renowned for its dangerous places, where there are a huge number of strange and wonderful creatures, meeting which does not bode well. However, the threat lurks not only in the forest. The waters of the Amazon River are no less scary. Just look at the monsters that live there - you'll think a million times before going there!

Black caiman

You could say this is an alligator on steroids, their muscles are much larger, and they can grow up to six meters in length. These are undoubtedly the apex predators of the Amazon River, the local kings who indiscriminately eat anyone who gets in their way.

Anaconda

One more giant monster The Amazon is the well-known anaconda, the largest snake in the world. The weight of a female anaconda can reach 250 kilograms, and this is with a 9-meter length and a diameter of 30 centimeters. These predators prefer shallow waters, so most often they can be found not in the river itself, but in its branches.

Arapaima

The huge predator arapaima is equipped with armored scales, so it fearlessly swims among piranhas, feeding on fish and birds. These creepy fish are almost three meters long and weigh 90 kilograms. The ferocity of these creatures can be judged by their teeth, which are even on the tongue!

Brazilian otter

Brazilian otters grow up to 2 meters in length and feed mainly on fish and crabs. However, the fact that they always hunt in large groups allows them to successfully obtain more serious prey: there have been cases when these harmless-looking creatures killed and ate adult anacondas and even caimans. It’s not for nothing that they were nicknamed “river wolves.”

Common vandellia or candiru

Bull sharks

Most often, bull sharks live in salty ocean waters, but they feel just as great in fresh water bodies. There were cases when these bloodthirsty predators swam so far along the Amazon that they reached the city (), located almost 4 thousand kilometers from the sea. Considering that sharp teeth and powerful jaws provide these 3-meter creatures with a bite force of 589 kilograms, you definitely wouldn’t want to meet them, but they are not averse to feasting on humans!

Electric eels

We would not advise you to approach them under any circumstances: two-meter creatures are capable of generating electrical discharges with a power of up to 600 volts. And this is 5 times the current power in an American outlet and is enough to easily knock down a horse. Repeated blows from these creatures can lead to cardiac or respiratory failure, causing people to lose consciousness and simply drown in the water.

Common piranhas

It’s hard to even imagine more terrible and ferocious creatures; this is the real quintessence of the horror of the Amazon River. We all know that the sharp teeth of these fish have more than once inspired Hollywood directors to create creepy films. However, in fairness, it is worth noting that piranhas are primarily scavengers. But, unfortunately, this does not mean that they do not attack healthy creatures. Their incredibly sharp teeth, located on the upper and lower jaws, meet very tightly, making them an ideal weapon for tearing flesh.

Mackerel hydrolic

These meter-long underwater inhabitants are also called vampire fish. On the lower jaw they have two sharp fangs that can grow up to 15 centimeters. They use these devices to literally impale the victim on them after they rush at it. The fangs of these fish are so large that nature had to take care of the safety of the hydrolics themselves. To prevent them from piercing themselves, they have special holes in their upper jaw.

Brown pacu

Fish with human teeth, the brown pacu, is a larger relative of the piranha. True, unlike the latter, these freshwater animals prefer fruits and nuts, although in general they are considered omnivores. The problem is that the "stupid" pacu are unable to distinguish nuts that fall from trees from male genitalia, which has left some male swimmers without testicles.

The Amazon River, with a length of 6,762 kilometers, is the longest, widest and fastest river in the world, and although Colombia owns only a hundred kilometers of it, it has significant influence on the natural and climatic parameters of this region. This river is home to about three thousand species of fish, among them such unusual and amazing ones as the arapaima - the largest freshwater fish, the mythical pink dolphin, the predatory piranha, the fanged payara that eats it, the electric eel, the stingray, the pacu - a fish of the piranha order with “human-like” "with teeth, the catfish, and finally, the small but insidious candiru fish.

The Orinoco River, originating in Venezuela on the border with Brazil, flows only along a section of Colombia's eastern border, but such large Colombian rivers as the Meta, Casanare, Vichada, Guaviare, Inirida, Guania, Vaupes, Apaporis and Caqueta are its tributaries. The Casiquiare River, which begins as a branch of the Orinoco, flows into the Rio Negro, a tributary of the Amazon, thus forming a natural channel between the Orinoco and the Amazon. For this reason, some species of fish can migrate throughout the water space of both rivers.

Among the fish that live in the basins of both rivers, the most predatory and well-known are piranhas, payars, electric eels and stingrays.

Piranha is called the scourge of Orinoquia and the Amazon. And if all the inhabitants of the jungle are afraid of it, then the payara, a large predatory fish that lives in some rivers of the Orinoco River basin, snacks on it with pleasure.

Payara or Sabertooth Tetra is a species of relatively little-known fish.
It can reach a length of 117 cm and weigh 17.8 kg. Ichthyophage, eats many piranhas.
The most notable features of the payara are the two pairs of fangs that are found in its lower jaw. A couple of them are visible, but the second is in the jaw when folded and is invisible in photographs. Larger specimens have fangs that reach 10–15 centimeters (4–6 inches), earning the fish the nickname “vampire fish.”
Payaira eats almost any fish that smaller in size, including piranhas and their own kind.

Piranhas- small, on average up to 30 cm in length, fish inhabiting the rivers of South America. Young piranhas are silver-blue in color, with dark speckles, but with age they darken and acquire a black mourning color. Despite their small stature, piranhas are one of the most voracious fish. The razor-sharp teeth of a piranha, when it closes its jaws, adjoin each other like a folded lock of fingers. It can easily bite a stick or finger with its teeth.

Shepherds driving herds across rivers where piranhas live have to give up one of the animals. And while the predators are dealing with the prey, away from this place the entire herd is safely transported to the other side. Wild animals turned out to be no less smart than people. In order to drink water or cross a river where piranhas are found, they begin to attract the attention of predators with the noise or splashing of water. And when a flock of piranhas rush towards the noise, the animals move along the shore to a safe place, where they quickly drink or cross the river.

The quarrelsome nature of piranhas makes them often quarrel and attack each other.
Piranhas attack any living creature that is within their reach: large fish, domestic and wild animals in the river, and humans. The alligator is trying to get out of their way.

Piranhas react to the smell of blood. As soon as a wounded animal enters the water where piranhas live, the fish, excited by the smell of blood, attack the victim. It only takes piranhas three minutes to leave the naked skeleton of a tapir. Moreover, if the animal does not smell of blood, the piranha will not be interested in it. Therefore, they can be considered orderlies who exterminate sick and wounded animals. Piranhas also feed on carrion, cleaning the river bottom. There are about 400 species of piranha in the Amazon. Among them there are also peaceful vegetarians, and not all predators are so aggressive. Oddly enough, piranhas - caring parents and drive everyone away from their home.

Paku- this time the fish is more amazing than scary. Although it still evokes a kind of mystical horror. And this fish is amazing in that it has teeth that are, to be sure, “human.”

When such a fish was caught recently in Chelyabinsk region(someone must have played with an exotic animal and released it into a Russian reservoir), the entire RuNet started talking about the mutant fish. Although it was just the Amazonian Pacu fish, which is caught in Colombia almost industrial scale and deliver to large cities - Bogota, Medellin, etc. Its meat is very tasty.
This fish is a herbivore, although it is very similar to a piranha. The black pacu is the largest fish of the piranha family. The maximum size is 70 cm. The body of fish of this family is high, laterally compressed.

Aravana- a predatory, rather large fish - one of the most ancient fish on earth. It lives in the northern part of South America and the Amazon basin, preferring dead branches of rivers with stagnant water. These fish often live in large schools and devour any aquatic life. On average, its length is 90-120 cm. Despite the fact that Aravans look majestic and even a little aggressive, they are actually very timid. They feed on insects and their larvae, fish that are smaller than them and can eat their own fry. Aravans mature at the age of 4-6 years. Males are brighter and slimmer than females. In addition, they have an elongated anal fin and a more powerful lower jaw with a noticeably protruding edge.

Aravana spawns seasonally, in portions. Marriage ceremonies take place near the bottom. During the dance, the male knocks out “giant” eggs from the female’s abdomen (its diameter reaches 16 millimeters), fertilizes it and takes it into his mouth for subsequent incubation. The seven-centimeter-long juvenile emerges from pharyngeal confinement into the wild after 50-60 days, retaining a pendulous yolk sac for the first ten days. However, this does not prevent them from hunting other people’s juveniles and insects.
Aravans are excellent jumpers. They are able to jump out of the water up to 2 meters.
Several legends are associated with this fish, one of which says that the meat of this fish should not be eaten by pregnant women, because it will bring misfortune to the unborn child. Otherwise, it is a commercial fish.
Another legend claims that keeping this fish in an aquarium will bring good luck in business and prosperity. For this reason, it has become fashionable to keep these giants in aquariums. The arawana was first brought to Russia only in 1979 in single copies. Nowadays it can be found quite often among aquarists who have large aquariums.

Graceful arawans have several types of colors - silver and black arowans are found in the Amazon basin. Blacks live in the Rio Negro River basin, which is a tributary of the Amazon. Asian and African Aravans have very beautiful colors.

Arapaima(Piraruku) is the largest freshwater fish on our planet and lives mainly in the waters of South America (Amazon, Orinoco). Sometimes, some specimens exceed 3 meters in length. Upon reaching 1.5 meters in size, arapaimas develop a very bright, interesting color. The front half of the body is yellow-green, and the back half is bright beet red.

By the breeding season, usually in April or May, the arapaima moves to shallow places with clean water and sandy bottom. In such places, with the help of fins, the arapaima digs a nest with a diameter of about 50 cm and a depth of about 15 cm. There are cases when the arapaima uses the same nest for several years. Like most large fish, arapaima grows very quickly.
What is very interesting is that it is a lungfish that can breathe atmospheric air, similar to labyrinth fish.
The fish is rare, listed in the International Red Book.

Amazon river dolphin, buto or inia - the largest species river dolphins, the length of adult individuals can reach 2.5 and weigh more than 200 kg. Dolphins are born dark in color, but lighten as they age and are therefore often called pink. By their nature, ini are playful and curious, they lend themselves well to taming, but they are difficult to train and they are quite aggressive, so these dolphins are usually not kept in aquariums. Interestingly, inias disperse the piranhas that infest these waters, so swimmers feel safe in such company, and fishermen follow them to find schools of fish.

Amazonian manatee— in total, scientists distinguish three types of manatees: Amazonian, American and African. All of them are members of the genus Sirenia.
It is believed that the first person to call manatees sirens was Christopher Columbus. “I observed three sea maidens,” he wrote quite seriously in the ship’s log, “but they were not as beautiful as they are painted.” Columbus had no doubt that the creatures he encountered in the waters Caribbean Sea, were sea maidens, or, in other words, sirens. The great navigator actually saw manatees.

It is difficult to imagine how one could mistake these heavy, wrinkled, and even bristly muzzles of bluish-gray shades for beauties, but the myth that appeared about three thousand years ago has happily survived to this day. The legend is so rooted in literature and in sea ​​stories that the genus of manatees and their relatives dugongs was named Sirenia by biologists.
In the evolutionary series, mammals manatees (sirens) are placed between cetaceans and pinnipeds. A long time ago, the ancestors of manatees lived on land, grazing on the banks of reservoirs, where there were many juicy grass, and often found themselves in the water in search of food, and then moved there altogether. Manatees have retained some characteristics of land animals.

They have lungs and limbs transformed into flippers. However, on land these seven hundred kilogram giants are completely helpless. They cannot move even by crawling, as seals or sea otters do. On the other hand, manatees, unlike whales, are able to get out of the shallows into the open sea.

They breathe infrequently. They come to the surface for a new breath of air no more than after 10-15 minutes, and even less often during sleep.

The female manatee gives birth to her cubs in the water. The male does not abandon the female after the birth of the cub. Manatees are very caring parents. The mother feeds the only cub with milk and allows it to ride on itself when it gets tired.

Lomantines are curious, trusting and not aggressive, although in case of danger they are able to stand up for themselves. They are strict vegetarians and eat huge amounts of algae in shallow waters. One animal eats at least 40-50 kilograms of algae per day. The gluttony of manatees makes them useful to humans.

Many river beds, canals and irrigation systems are heavily overgrown with algae, which leads to failures in the operation of irrigation systems and water pipelines of hydroelectric power plants. Manatees came to help in eliminating this problem, and with pleasure and great appetite they perform their duties. A grazing manatee uses its flippers like a man uses his hands. Perhaps this is precisely why the myth of the sea maidens arose...

Electric eel- the most dangerous fish of all electric fish. In terms of the number of human casualties, it is even ahead of the legendary piranha. This eel (by the way, it has nothing to do with ordinary eels) is capable of emitting powerful electric charge. If you take a young eel in your hands, you feel a slight tingling sensation, and this, given the fact that the babies are only a few days old and are only 2-3 cm in size. It is easy to imagine what sensations you will get if you touch a two-meter eel. A person in such close contact receives a shock of 600 V and can die from it. The electric eel sends powerful force waves up to 150 times a day. But the strangest thing is that, despite such weapons, the eel feeds mainly on small fish.
To kill a fish, the electric eel only needs to shudder and release a current. The victim dies instantly. The eel grabs it from the bottom, always from the head, and then, sinking to the bottom, digests the prey for several minutes.

Electric eels live in the rivers of South America, in large quantities found in the waters of the Amazon. In those places where the eel lives, there is often a great lack of oxygen. Therefore, the electric eel has developed a behavioral feature. Eels stay under water for about 2 hours, and then swim to the surface and breathe there for 10 minutes, whereas ordinary fish only need to surface for a few seconds.
Electric eels are large fish that look like huge, thick worms: an adult can reach a length of up to 3 meters and weigh up to 40 kilograms. The body is elongated, slightly flattened laterally. The skin is bare and not covered with scales. The fins are very developed, with their help the electric eel is able to easily move in all directions. Adult electric eels are brown in color, with the undersides of the head and throat being bright orange. The coloring of young individuals is paler.

The most interesting thing about the structure of electric eels is its electrical organs, which occupy more than 2/3 of the body length. The positive pole of this “battery” lies in the front of the eel’s body, and the negative pole lies in the back. The highest discharge voltage, according to observations in aquariums, can reach 650 V, but usually it is less, and in fish one meter long it does not exceed 350 V. This power is enough to light 5 light bulbs. The main electrical organs are used by the eel to protect itself from enemies and to paralyze prey. There is another additional electrical organ, but the field produced by it plays the role of a locator: with the help of interference arising within this field, the eel receives information about obstacles on the way or the approach of potential prey. The frequency of these location discharges is very small and practically imperceptible to humans.

The discharge itself, which is produced by electric eels, is not fatal to humans, but it is still very dangerous. If you get an electric shock while underwater, you can easily lose consciousness.

The electric eel is aggressive. Can attack without warning, even if there is no threat to him. If something living comes within the range of its force field, the eel will not hide or swim away. It is better for the person himself to swim to the side if an electric eel appears on the way. You should not swim to this fish at a distance of less than 3 meters; this is precisely the main radius of action of the meter-long eel’s field.

Stingray- another one dangerous fish Amazonia.
The sandbank, where the bottom is clearly visible, seems safe. But under a thin layer of sand rests a flat river stingray, Araya, painted to match the color of the bottom, as the Brazilians call it. An alarmed stingray beats its tail, in the middle of which two jagged poisonous stilettos stick out. Poison flows down a groove into the spikes from a special gland, so the wound inflicted by the stingray is very painful. Having been hit by stilettos, a person jumps out of the water, spurred on by unbearable pain, like a fiery whip. And he immediately falls on the sand, bleeding and losing consciousness. Wounds from poisoned stingray stilettos are said to be mostly fatal.
The Amazon Indians use the large and strong spine of the stingray as an arrowhead. River stingrays, unlike their closest relatives, sea stingrays, are typical freshwater animals inhabiting the rivers of the Amazon basin. Apart from the Amazon, they are not found in any other rivers, but only in the seas. Amazon stingrays belong to the class of cartilaginous fish, to the order Stingrays, to the family of river stingrays.

Kandiru, or carnero - tiny, worm-like. Its length is 7-15 centimeters, and its thickness is only a few millimeters (in addition to that, it is also half transparent). In the blink of an eye, the candiru climbs into the natural openings on the body of a bathing person and bites into their walls from the inside. Pull her out without surgical intervention impossible.
The author of the book "In the Amazon Jungle" Elgot Landge, who lived twelve adventurous months in Amazonian forests, says that the forest dwellers, out of fear of the candiru, became accustomed to bathing only in special baths. They build a boardwalk low above the water. A window is cut in the middle - through it the bather scoops up water with a nut shell and, after carefully examining it, pours it on himself.
Tropical fish - the common Vandellia or Candiru (Latin Vandellia cirrhosa), (English Candiru) lives in the Amazon basin and terrifies the local population. This is a small catfish, although some species reach 15 cm.

Aspred catfish They live only in the Amazon, preferring brackish water near the mouth. Externally, the catfish resembles a tadpole - a wide head without gill covers, a wide and flat chest and a long thin body. Aspredo are very caring parents - after fertilization, the female literally rubs the eggs into her belly. The eggs adhere to the spongy skin, and then grow into it and feed, connecting with the mother’s blood vessels. Having hatched, the fry leave the mother's belly.

American scalefish(from the order of bipulmonates) is another interesting fish of the Amazon basin. It lives in small swampy and drying up reservoirs of the Amazon basin and belongs to the order of the horn-toothed family of the Lepidoptera family. Lungfish are a very ancient species of fish. The first lungfish appeared about 380 million years ago and are considered the most ancient fish on the planet. For a long time, such fish were known only from fossilized remains that archaeologists have found. Only in 1835 was it discovered that the Protoptera fish, which lives in African waters, is a lungfish.
In fact, six species of this group of fish have survived to this day, and the American lakefish (from the order Dipulmonata) is one of them.
Modern lungfishes are fish that live in fresh water. Main feature which is that in addition to gills, like all ordinary fish, they also have real lungs (a modified swim bladder), with the help of which they can successfully breathe atmospheric air. This is where their name comes from.
American scaleweed or lepidosiren is the only representative lungfish, living in South America. The length of its body reaches 1.2 m. Lepidosirens usually live in temporary reservoirs, which are filled with water only during periods of heavy rains and floods.