Pirarucu vs Rascasse volante

Arapaima gigas comparé à Pterois volitans

Taxonomy & Classification

Attribut	Pirarucu	Rascasse volante
Nom scientifique	Arapaima gigas	Pterois volitans
Ordre	Osteoglossiformes	Scorpaeniformes
Famille	Arapaimidae	Scorpaenidae
Conservation Status	Data Deficient	Least Concern

Physical Traits

Attribut	Pirarucu	Rascasse volante
Longueur maximale	450,0 cm	38,0 cm
Poids maximum	200,0 kg	1,1 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.	White to cream body with alternating bold reddish-brown and white vertical bands; fan-like pectoral fins are banded with red-brown and white spots; long dorsal spines are striped and venomous.

Habitat & Environment

Attribut	Pirarucu	Rascasse volante
Type d'eau	Freshwater	Saltwater
Plage de profondeur	—	2-55m
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 the Indo-Pacific from East Africa and the Red Sea to southern Japan, Australia, and the Marquesas. Invasive in the western Atlantic and Caribbean …
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. …	Neritic, coral reefs

Informations sur la pêche

Attribut	Pirarucu	Rascasse volante
Poisson de pêche sportive	Oui	Non
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.

Rascasse volante

Sweet, buttery white flesh once spines are safely removed; increasingly promoted as a sustainable food source in Atlantic waters where it is an invasive species.

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.

Rascasse volante

The red lionfish is a venomous coral reef fish native to the Indo-Pacific. Its ornate, striped body and fan-like pectoral fins make it popular in aquariums, but it has become a destructive invasive species in the western Atlantic and Caribbean.