Common names from other countries
Teleostei (teleosts) >
Characiformes (Characins) >
Serrasalmidae (Piranhas and pacus) > Colossomatinae
Etymology: Piaractus: Greek, piar = fat, the side with grease of a body + Greek, aktos , ago = to carry.
More on author: Cuvier.
Issue
See Loubens & Panfili (2001:51) for growth biology.
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Freshwater; pelagic; pH range: 4.8 - 6.8; dH range: ? - 15. Tropical; 23°C - 28°C (Ref. 2060); 23°N - 11°S
South America: Amazon and Orinoco River basins (Ref. 39031). Reported from Argentina (Ref. 9086).
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?, range 52 - ? cm
Max length : 88.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 40637); max. published weight: 25.0 kg (Ref. 2060); max. reported age: 28 years (Ref. 39139)
Juveniles mimic Serrasalmus nattereri. Feeds on insects and decaying plants (Ref. 32894). Possesses powerful dentition that can cause serious bites (Ref. 4537). An important foodfish (Ref. 12202).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae
Assuming standard charicid mode of reproduction. Replace ASAP.
Ortega, H. and R.P. Vari, 1986. Annotated checklist of the freshwater fishes of Peru. Smithson. Contrib. Zool. (437):1-25. (Ref. 6329)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)
CITES (Ref. 128078)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Traumatogenic
Human uses
Fisheries: minor commercial; aquaculture: commercial; aquarium: commercial
Tools
Special reports
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Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.7500 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.03162 (0.02336 - 0.04281), b=2.99 (2.90 - 3.08), in cm Total Length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 2.5 ±0.22 se; based on food items.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (tm=7; tmax=28).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): High vulnerability (55 of 100).