Pirarucu vs Anguille d'Europe

Arapaima gigas comparé à Anguilla anguilla

Taxonomy & Classification

Attribut	Pirarucu	Anguille d'Europe
Nom scientifique	Arapaima gigas	Anguilla anguilla
Ordre	Osteoglossiformes	Elopomorpha
Famille	Arapaimidae	Megalopidae
Conservation Status	Data Deficient	Critically Endangered

Physical Traits

Attribut	Pirarucu	Anguille d'Europe
Longueur maximale	450,0 cm	133,0 cm
Poids maximum	200,0 kg	6,6 kg
Couleur	Dark olive-gray to grayish-black back with large scales that become vivid red-orange with black borders on the posterior flanks; belly pale cream; caudal fin reddish and rounded.	Yellow-olive to olive-brown back and sides in the freshwater 'yellow eel' phase; maturing 'silver eel' phase develops a dark gray-black back with a silvery-white belly and enlarged eyes.

Habitat & Environment

Attribut	Pirarucu	Anguille d'Europe
Type d'eau	Freshwater	Freshwater & Saltwater
Plage de profondeur	—	0-700m
Aire de répartition	Restricted to the Amazon River basin in Brazil, Peru, Guyana, and Bolivia. Inhabits flooded várzea lakes, oxbows, and large river channels; surfaces frequently to breathe …	Spawns in the Sargasso Sea and larvae drift to European and North African coasts on the Gulf Stream. Adults inhabit rivers, lakes, and coastal waters …
Habitat	Floodplain lakes (várzea) and large river channels of the Amazon basin. Slow-moving, shallow, warm freshwater (26-30°C). An obligate air-breather; rises to surface to gulp air. …	Estuaries

Informations sur la pêche

Attribut	Pirarucu	Anguille d'Europe
Poisson de pêche sportive	Oui	Oui
Cote de combativité	10/10	—
Record du monde	—	—
Teneur en mercure	—	—

Cuisine & Edibility

Pirarucu

Large, firm white fillets with a mild, clean flavor and low fat; historically a staple protein in Amazonian communities. Often salted and dried; sustainable harvest is tightly regulated.

Anguille d'Europe

Rich, fatty flesh with a distinctive earthy flavor; classically smoked, jellied (in Britain), or grilled kabayaki-style. Critically Endangered — consumption strongly discouraged; population down 90%.

Species Overview

Pirarucu

The arapaima is one of the largest freshwater fish in the world, reaching up to 4.5 meters. An obligate air-breather, it must surface every 10-20 minutes to gulp air. Its tongue is bony and used to crush prey against the roof of its mouth.

Anguille d'Europe

The European eel undertakes one of nature's most remarkable migrations, traveling 5,000 km from European rivers to the Sargasso Sea to spawn and die. Despite centuries of study, its breeding grounds were only recently confirmed.