Largest Fish In World Is The Arapaima

Life

oi-Denise Baptiste

By Denise Baptiste

Thursday, January 6, 2011, 13:51

Ever wondered if a fish can be bigger than you? In fact there exists fish which is larger than a human. The largest fish in the world that makes our earth proud is the Arapaima.

This largest fish on our planet is found in the Amazon river where it is used by the locals as their staple food since it contains rich proteins and minerals and due to the increase of fishing occupation in the Amazon river, the Arapaima is slowly becoming extinct.

The story of the largest fish in the world, the Arapaima, comes with a great history where the Amazon locals believe that Pirarucu, the son of an Amazon chief was struck by Gods and he was later transformed to become the Arapaima and till today the locals of the Amazon River believe that Pirarucu is the fish. This fish is also well known as, 'Paiche'.

According to science, it is said that this largest fish in the world existed at the time when dinosaurs walked the planet. Fossils of the Arapaima prove the records.
This fish grows to a great length of 14 and a half feet which weighs over 440 pounds. This largest fish in the world eats any fish that comes its way and also aims for birds that float on water.It uses its bony tongue to crush its food against the roof of its mouth before swallowing.
Fisherman who generally search for this fish in the Amazon River find it difficult as they weigh a lot and get very restless when captured in their net.

However, it is said that due to the fishing habits in the local area of Amazon river , this largest fish in the world is slowly becoming extinct.