Pirarucu vs Achigan à grande bouche

Arapaima gigas comparé à Micropterus salmoides

Taxonomy & Classification

Attribut	Pirarucu	Achigan à grande bouche
Nom scientifique	Arapaima gigas	Micropterus salmoides
Ordre	Osteoglossiformes	Centrarchiformes
Famille	Arapaimidae	Centrarchidae
Conservation Status	Data Deficient	Least Concern

Physical Traits

Attribut	Pirarucu	Achigan à grande bouche
Longueur maximale	450,0 cm	97,0 cm
Poids maximum	200,0 kg	10,1 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.	Olive-green to dark green back fading to pale yellowish-white belly, with a bold dark lateral band of mottled blotches running from gill to tail.

Habitat & Environment

Attribut	Pirarucu	Achigan à grande bouche
Type d'eau	Freshwater	Freshwater
Plage de profondeur	—	0-6m
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 …	Native to eastern North America from the Great Lakes south through the Mississippi River basin to the Gulf states and Florida. Introduced widely across Europe, …
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	Achigan à grande bouche
Poisson de pêche sportive	Oui	Oui
Cote de combativité	10/10	7/10
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.

Achigan à grande bouche

Firm white flesh with a mild, clean flavor; low fat content. Popular pan-fried, baked, or grilled; widely regarded as one of North America's finest freshwater table fish.

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.

Achigan à grande bouche

The largemouth bass is the most popular freshwater game fish in North America. Known for explosive topwater strikes and powerful runs, it inhabits warm lakes, ponds, and slow-moving rivers with abundant cover.