📸 PhotoPhoto: User:Qwertzy2 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons Source
Arawana
Osteoglossum bicirrhosum (Arawana · シルバーアロワナ)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 Its average weight of 4.6 kg is slightly lighter than a 5 kg bag of rice (Comparison).
- 💡 Its maximum length of 1.2 m is about the height of a 1st-grade elementary school child (Comparison).
- 💡 An important fish for Amazon fishers, it is a larger source of protein than other Amazon fish and is considered easy to digest because of its low fat content (ADW).
- 💡 It is widely traded as an aquarium fish (ADW, FishBase).
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
Site-computed relative index from recorded values; not a formal scientific metric.
📖 1. Overview
The arawana is a freshwater fish living in the Amazon River basin, characterized by large silvery scales and a bony tongue. Its name comes from its bony tongue.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
Its body is laterally compressed, and its large mouth opens obliquely upward. Its scales are large, hard, and pearly silver, reflecting red, blue, and green hues as the fish grows. Teeth are present on its jaws, palate, and tongue.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
Hiding beside fallen trees, it leaps out of the water to snatch large insects or small birds on branches, earning the nickname 'water monkey.' The male carries the eggs and young in his mouth and cares for them for about two months.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
No direct record connecting this species to Korea has been found.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List LC (2023) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/49830060/85282193
- • IUCN Red List category LC — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • catalogueoflife.org — 75BDS
- • iucnredlist.org — 85282193
- • wikidata.org — Q333375
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Osteoglossum bicirrhosum.JPG
- • animaldiversity.org — Osteoglossum bicirrhosum
- • fishbase.se — Osteoglossum-bicirrhosum.html
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — Arthur S. Brum · CC BY 4.0 (Congeneric silhouette — Coilia lindmani)
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.