Pirapitinga
Piaractus brachypomus, the pirapitinga, is a large species of pacu, a close relative of piranhas and silver dollars, in the serrasalmid family. It is native to the Amazon basin in tropical South America, but it formerly included populations in the Orinoco, which was described in 2019 as a separate species, P. orinoquensis. Additionally, P. brachypomus is widely farmed and has been introduced to other regions. In South Florida they are invasive in rivers, canals or lakes.
As with a number of other closely related species, P. brachypomus is often referred to as the red-bellied pacu in reference to the appearance of the juveniles. This has resulted in a great deal of confusion about the nature and needs of all the species involved, with the reputation and requirements of one frequently being wrongly attributed to the others.
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DiurnalDiurnal animals are active during the daytime, with a period of sleeping or other inactivity at night. The timing of activity by an animal depends ...
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HerbivoreA herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example, foliage, for the main component of its die...
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PiscivoresA piscivore is a carnivorous animal that eats primarily fish. Piscivorous is equivalent to the Greek-derived word ichthyophagous. Fish were the die...
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FrugivoreA frugivore is an animal that thrives mostly on raw fruits or succulent fruit-like produce of plants such as roots, shoots, nuts, and seeds. Approx...
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MolluscivoreA molluscivore is a carnivorous animal that specializes in feeding on molluscs such as gastropods, bivalves, brachiopods, and cephalopods. Known mo...
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GranivoreSeed predation, often referred to as granivory, is a type of plant-animal interaction in which granivores (seed predators) feed on the seeds of pla...
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OmnivoreAn omnivore is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and ani...
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CarnivoreA carnivore meaning 'meat eater' is an organism that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of a...
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InsectivoresAn insectivore is a carnivorous plant or animal that eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which also refers to the human practice of e...
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OviparousOviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
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PolygynandryPolygynandry is a mating system in which both males and females have multiple mating partners during a breeding season.
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MigratingAnimal migration is the relatively long-distance movement of individual animals, usually on a seasonal basis. It is the most common form of migrati...
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starts withPiaractus brachypomus can reach up to 88 cm (2.9 ft) in length and 25 kg (55 lb) in weight.
Juveniles have a distinct red chest and stomach, and are easily confused with the carnivorous red-bellied piranha (Pygocentrus nattereri), but the two can be separated by their teeth, which are molar-like in Piaractus brachypomus. This similarity is believed to be Batesian mimicry by P. brachypomus in an attempt of avoiding predation by other species. Adults lack the bright red chest and belly, and resemble the tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum), but can be separated by several meristic and morphological features: The pirapitinga has a smaller adipose fin that lacks rays, as well as differences in teeth and operculum. The pirapitinga also has a more rounded head profile (less elongated and pointed). The other member of its genus, P. mesopotamicus, can be distinguished by its smaller scale-size and the higher number of lateral scales (more than 110).
In general, its behavior resembles that of the closely related tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum). It is migratory, but the pattern is poorly understood. Spawning occurs at the beginning of the flood season between November and February. Larvae of the pirapitinga are found in whitewater rivers, but adults mainly live in flooded forests and floodplains of various river types, including those of both nutrient-rich and nutrient-poor. Unlike the tambaqui, the pirapitinga also occurs in the headwaters of nutrient-poor rivers (not just in the lower sections).
It mainly feeds on fruits, seeds, and nuts, but it is opportunistic and will also take zooplankton, Insects, crustaceans and small fish, especially in the dry season. In general, more seeds are able to pass undamaged through the pirapitinga than the tambaqui, meaning that the former is overall a more efficient seed disperser.