The Amazon is home to many thousands of fish species that are found nowhere else in the world. The most big fish The Amazon, which was called the Arapaima by the locals, is a real giant, and some scientists attribute this species to the largest of those that live in freshwater rivers.

The freshwater arapaima is the largest fish in the Amazon, as it can reach approximately 2.5-3 m in length and weigh over 200 kg. Despite the fact that even 100 years ago, large fish of this species were not a rare prey for relevant fishermen, at present, even individuals of 50 kg are rarely found. The popularity of catching arapaima is due to the fact that this meat of this fish is distinguished by excellent palatability. The gradual decline of the arapaima population in the waters of the Amazon has drawn the attention of scientists to this species. Most often, large specimens of arapaima are found in the Brazilian and Peruvian parts of the Amazon, but scientists believe that adult fish can move along the riverbed, migrating for seasonal spawning in more clear waters. Arapaims are found throughout the Amazon, but not so often.

In fact, arapaima is a truly amazing creature, because despite its large size, it can survive in fresh water, where oxygen saturation levels are not too high. The point is that this amazing fish able to breathe not only with gills. She has primitive lung, which allows you to compensate for the lack of oxygen necessary to nourish the tissues of such a large body. Arapaima, living in different parts of the Amazon, emerge to breathe air every 20-30 minutes. Large specimens of arapaima prefer quiet backwaters, total area which does not exceed 140 m, which are many along the entire length of the river. It is the fact that this large fish lives in shallow pools that do not differ in significant size, which makes it extremely vulnerable to fishermen.

Arapaima feeds mainly on bottom fish and crustaceans, but may also include some fruits in the diet, which fall into the river in excess during a flood. This fish has excellent hearing and sense of smell, so it can smell ripe fruits in the water even from a great distance. Adult arapaima are very caring parents. During the breeding season, which falls in November for these fish, they move closer to the sandy shores, where they dig a small depression where the female throws the game. After that, the male is constantly on duty near the hole with eggs, and the female drives away fish that try to approach. Thus, fish provide reliable protection for future generations. After hatching, the juvenile stays near the head of the adult and even rises to breathe with the parent. Only after 3-4 months, the connection weakens, and the juveniles begin an independent life.

The abundance of food in the Amazon River leads to the fact that arapaima grow rapidly and gain weight. The number of arapaima in the waters of the Amazon is gradually declining, since if earlier only large individuals were exterminated by harpoons, now the use of modern nets has made it possible to catch juveniles.

Amazon is the most big river on planet Earth, its waters and coastal areas are home to a huge number of different animals. There are both small and beautiful birds, and deadly snakes, wild cats. Some animals are dangerous to humans, but get along well with each other. We present you the ten most common and terrifying animals of the Amazon.

Jaguar


The largest cat that lives on the banks of the Amazon. The diet of the jaguar includes all kinds of land inhabitants of the jungle, ranging from small mice to deer. The weight of jaguars on average fluctuates around 90-100 kilograms, but there are individuals that grow up to 120 kilograms. For humans, jaguars do not pose a direct threat, because they do not attack people of their own free will, only for the purpose of self-defense.

piranhas


Piranhas have become the main characters of horror films many times. But the truth is that they originally feed on carrion. However, this fact does not exclude that they cannot attack other animals. Each piranha can be 30 centimeters in size. Their weapons are straight teeth, on both jaws, which can close completely, enabling them to tear off pieces of flesh. Piranhas live large groups, therefore they pose a great danger to most animals.
Many different snakes can be found in the Amazon forests, but the South American rattlesnake- one of the most dangerous snakes for humans. Her bite can easily end in death if you do not help the victim in time. The snake lives in the Amazon jungle far from the river itself. Eats small mammals, rodents and amphibians. According to statistics, a tenth of snake bites in South America belong to these snakes.

Spotted dart frog


A frog belonging to the genus of poison dart frogs. Dwells on deciduous trees Amazons. The appearance of the frog is as impressive as its poison. Although the frog itself is very small, only 5 centimeters long, its poison is enough to kill 10 adult men. It feeds on all kinds of insects. Even having a motley appearance, the poison dart frog is not afraid of predators and does not need to be disguised, because the motley appearance speaks of danger, and those who do not believe will have to taste deadly poison.

electric eel


Creatures prefer muddy bottoms. Their length is within 2-3 meters, sometimes slightly exceeding this figure. The mass of an eel can be more than 40 kilograms. Eels prefer to feed on small birds, fish, small mammals and amphibians. Eels hunt thanks to special bodies, which generates a discharge of electricity, delivering a blow of sufficient power to kill or stun prey. For a person, eel does not pose a mortal danger, because the power of its discharge is not enough to kill a person, but it can lead to heart attack or loss of consciousness.

bull shark


Even being inhabitants of salty ocean waters, sharks can feel great in fresh water. Therefore, there are times when the formidable predators of the ocean swim into the waters of the Amazon. It happened that sharks were met near settlements along the Amazon, and this is a considerable 4000 kilometers from the ocean. Due to the special structure of the kidneys, sharks quickly adapt to the salt balance in the water. "Bulls" are often over 3 meters long, body weight can exceed 300 kilograms. The bite force of such a monster is 589 kilograms. Sharks eat everything, they also do not disdain human flesh, it is this type of shark that most often devours people. Due to the fact that sharks are very dangerous and live near densely populated areas, they are considered the most dangerous among all sharks in the world.

Anaconda


Anaconda is the most big snake on the ground. Although there are species of pythons that overtake the anaconda in length, but its weight is much greater than that of longer snakes. An anaconda can have a mass of over 200 kilograms, reach a length of up to 9 meters, and the body of a snake in diameter reaches 30 centimeters. Anaconda is able to catch a caiman or a jaguar, but at the same time risks becoming a dinner itself. Often her diet consists of capybaras and deer. The anaconda prefers to hunt in shallow water, where it can easily sneak up on its prey without being noticed.

black caiman


Black caimans are the largest predators in the Amazon River. In length, caimans can grow over five meters. As masters of the waters of the Amazon, caimans feed on absolutely everything that comes into their mouths: monkeys, big fish, anacondas, jaguars, carrion - everything that a huge reptile can swallow. For people, caimans are also very dangerous, they willingly attack onlookers, so when swimming along the river, you need to be on the alert. Once caimans were on the verge of extinction, but the law prohibiting hunting for them has increased the number of inhabitants of the river.

Arapaima


Arapaima - huge predatory fish living in the waters of the Amazon. The scales of the fish are very durable and serve as an excellent protection for it. Therefore, no piranhas are afraid of arapaime. The diet of fish includes mainly fish and sometimes birds. An underwater predator often swims near the surface of the water, because the oxygen received through the gills is not enough for them, and they take breaths, floating to the surface of the water. The average length of the fish is about 2 meters, but sometimes it reaches 3. The maximum weight that has been recorded is 200 kilograms. It also poses a danger to people. There was a case when a fish attacked two fishermen, as a result of which they died.

brazilian otter


The Brazilian otter is the largest freshwater otter of the mustelid family and the genus of giant otters. They eat most often fish and crustaceans that inhabit the waters of the Amazon. Otters grow up to 2 meters in length (from the muzzle to the tip of the tail). Hunting takes place in communities of up to eight representatives. Many consider otters to be very cute and harmless, but this is far from the truth. Otters are able to catch an anaconda in a flock and tear it to pieces, there have been cases of reprisals against caimans, the dead otters are immediately eaten. Although the number of Brazilian otters is declining, due to poachers in particular, they are considered one of the strongest predators of the Amazon.


With a length of 6762 kilometers, the Amazon River is the longest, widest and most fast river in the world, and although Colombia owns only a hundred-kilometer section of it, it has a significant impact on the natural and climatic parameters of this region. About three thousand species of fish are found in this river, among them such unusual and amazing ones as arapaima - the largest freshwater fish, the mythical pink dolphin, predatory piranha eating her fanged payara, electric eel, stingray stingray, pacu - piranha fish with "human » teeth, catfish and finally, a small but treacherous candiru fish.

The Orinoco River, originating in Venezuela on the border with Brazil, flows only along a section of the eastern border of Colombia, but such large Colombian rivers as Meta, Casanare, Vichada, Guaviare, Inirida, Guania, Vaupes, Apaporis and Caqueta are its tributaries. The Casiquiare River, which begins as a branch of the Orinoco, flows into the Rio Negro, a tributary of the Amazon, thus forming a natural channel between the Orinoco and the Amazon. For this reason, some fish species can migrate throughout the water area of ​​both rivers.

Among the fish that live in the basins of both rivers, the most predatory and famous are piranhas, payar, electric eels and stingrays.

Piranha is called the scourge of Orinocia and Amazonia. And if all the inhabitants of the selva are afraid of her, then payara bites with pleasure - a large predatory fish that lives in some rivers of the Orinoco basin.

payar or Saber-toothed tetra is a species of relatively little-known fish.
It can reach a length of 117 cm and weigh 17.8 kg. Ichthyophagus, eats piranhas in abundance.
The most notable features of the payara are the two pairs of fangs that reside in its lower jaw. A pair of them is visible, the second is in the jaw in a folded state and is invisible in the photographs. In large individuals, fangs reach 10-15 centimeters (4-6 inches), earning the fish the nickname "vampire fish".
Payaira feeds on almost any fish that smaller size, including piranhas and their own kind.

piranhas- small, on average up to 30 cm in length, fish inhabiting rivers South America. Young piranhas are silver-blue in color, with dark speckles, but darken with age and acquire a black mourning color. Despite their small stature, piranhas are one of the most voracious fish. The razor-sharp teeth of a piranha, when it closes its jaws, adjoin each other like a folded lock of fingers. With his teeth, he can easily bite a stick or a finger.

Shepherds driving herds across rivers where piranhas are found have to give one of the animals. And while the predators deal with the victim, aside from this place, the entire herd safely crosses to the other side. Wild animals proved to be no less intelligent than humans. To drink water or cross a river where piranhas are found, they begin to attract the attention of predators with the noise or splash of water. And when the flock of piranhas rush to the noise, the animals along the shore move to a safe place, drink quickly there or cross the river.

The quarrelsome nature of piranhas makes them often quarrel and attack each other.
Piranhas attack everything. Living being within their reach: large fish, domestic and wild animals in the river, humans. Alligator - and he tries to get out of their way.

Piranhas react to the smell of blood. As soon as a wounded animal enters the water where piranhas live, the fish, excited by the smell of blood, pounce on the victim. It only takes three minutes for piranhas to leave a bare skeleton from a tapir. Moreover, if the animal does not smell of blood, piranhas will not be interested in it. Therefore, they can be considered orderlies exterminating sick and wounded animals. Piranhas also feed on carrion, cleaning the bottom of the river. There are about 400 species of piranhas in the Amazon. Among them there are also peaceful vegetarians, and not all predators are so aggressive. Oddly enough, piranhas are caring parents and drive everyone away from their home.

Pacu- this time the fish is more amazing than scary. Although it still evokes a kind of mystical horror. And this fish is amazing in that it has teeth - neither give nor take - "human".

When such a fish was caught recently in Chelyabinsk region(there must be someone, after playing with an exotic animal, released it into a Russian reservoir), the entire Runet started talking about a mutant fish. Although it was only Amazonian fish Pacu, which is caught almost on an industrial scale in Colombia and delivered to big cities- Bogota, Medellin, etc. Its meat is very tasty.
This fish is herbivorous, although it is very similar to piranha. Black pacu is the largest fish of the piranha family. The maximum dimensions are 70 cm. The body of fish of this family is high, laterally compressed.

Aravan- predatory, rather large fish - one of the most ancient fish on earth. It lives in the northern part of South America and in the Amazon basin, preferring dead branches of rivers with stagnant water. These fish often live in large flocks and devour any aquatic life. On average, its length is 90-120 cm. Despite the fact that Aravans look majestic and even a little aggressive, in fact they are very shy. They feed on insects and their larvae, fish that are smaller than them and can eat their own fry. Aravans ripen at the age of 4-6 years. Males are brighter and slimmer than females. In addition, they have an elongated anal fin and a more powerful lower jaw with a noticeably protruding edge.

Aravan spawning is seasonal, portioned. Marriage ceremonies unfold near the bottom. During the dance, the male knocks out the "gigantic" caviar from the female's abdomen (its diameter reaches 16 millimeters), fertilizes it and takes it into the mouth for subsequent incubation. A seven-centimeter juvenile emerges from pharyngeal confinement into the wild after 50-60 days, retaining a pendulous yolk sac for the first decade. However, this does not prevent hunting other people's juveniles and insects.
Aravans are excellent jumpers. They are able to jump out of the water up to 2 meters.
Several legends are associated with this fish, one of which says that the meat of this fish should not be eaten by pregnant women, because it will bring bad luck to the unborn child. Otherwise, it is a commercial fish.
Another legend claims that keeping this fish in an aquarium will bring good luck in business and prosperity. For this reason, it has become fashionable to keep these giants in aquariums. Aravan was first brought to Russia only in 1979 in single copies. Now it can be found quite often among aquarists with large aquariums.

Graceful Aravans have several types of color - silver and black Aravans are found in the Amazon. Blacks live in the Rio Negro basin, which is a tributary of the Amazon. Asian and African Aravans have a very beautiful color.

Arapaima(Piraruku) is the largest freshwater fish on our planet and lives mainly in the waters of South America (Amazon, Orinoco). Sometimes, some specimens exceed 3 meters in length. Upon reaching 1.5 meters in size, arapaim have a very bright, interesting color. The front half of the body is yellow-green, and the back half is bright beet red.


By the breeding season, usually in April or May, arapaima leaves for shallow places with clean water and sandy bottom. In such places, with the help of fins, the arapaima digs a nest about 50 cm in diameter and about 15 cm deep. There are cases when the arapaima uses the same nest for several years. Like most large fish, arapaima grows very quickly.
What is very interesting is that it is a lungfish that can breathe atmospheric air, similar to labyrinth fish.
The fish is rare, listed in the international Red Book.

Amazon river dolphin, bouto or iniya - the most large view river dolphins, the length of adults can reach 2.5 and weigh more than 200 kg. Dolphins are born with a dark color, but lighten with age and therefore they are often called pink. By their nature, inii are playful and curious, well tamed, but they are difficult to train and they are quite aggressive, so these dolphins are usually not kept in aquariums. Interestingly, the inia disperse the piranhas that teem in these waters, so bathers feel safe in such company, and fishermen follow them to find schools of fish.

Amazonian manatee- In total, scientists distinguish three types of manatees: Amazonian, American and African. All of them are included in the genus Sirenia.
It is believed that the first person to call manatees sirens was Christopher Columbus. “I observed three sea maidens,” he wrote quite seriously in the ship’s journal, “but they were not as beautiful as they are painted.” Columbus had no doubt that the creatures he met in the waters caribbean, were sea maidens, or, in other words, sirens. At the very great navigator saw manatees.

It is hard to imagine how one could mistake these weighty, wrinkled, and even bristly muzzles of bluish-gray shades for beauties, but the myth that appeared about three thousand years ago has successfully survived to this day. The legend is so ingrained in literature and sea stories that the genus of manatees and their dugong relatives has been named Sirenia by biologists.
In the evolutionary series, mammals manatees (sirens) are placed between cetaceans and pinnipeds. A long time ago, the ancestors of manatees lived on land, grazed on the banks of water bodies, where there was a lot of juicy grass, and often found themselves in the water in search of food, and then completely moved there. Manatees have retained some features of land animals.

They have lungs and limbs that have evolved into flippers. However, on land, these seven hundred kilogram giants are completely helpless. They cannot move even by crawling, as seals or sea otters do. On the other hand, manatees, unlike whales, are able to get out of the shallows into the open sea.

They breathe infrequently. They rise to the surface for a new breath of air no more than 10-15 minutes later, and even less often during sleep.

The female manatee gives birth to cubs in the water. The male does not abandon the female after the birth of the cub. Manatees are very caring parents. The mother feeds her only cub with milk and allows him to ride on her when he gets tired.

Lomantines are curious, trusting and not aggressive, although they are able to stand up for themselves in case of danger. They are strict vegetarians and eat great amount algae in shallow water. One animal eats at least 40-50 kilograms of algae per day. The gluttony of manatees makes them useful to humans.

Many riverbeds, canals and irrigation systems are heavily overgrown with algae, causing irrigation systems and hydroelectric power lines to fail. To help in eliminating this problem, manatees came, who with pleasure and great appetite fulfill their duty. A grazing manatee wields his flippers like a man with his hands. Perhaps it was because of this that the myth of the sea maidens arose ...

electric eel- the most dangerous fish among all electric fish. In terms of the number of human victims, it even outstrips the legendary piranha. This eel (by the way, it has nothing to do with ordinary eels) is capable of emitting a powerful electric charge. If you take a young eel in your hands, you feel a slight tingling, and this, given that the babies are only a few days old and they are only 2-3 cm in size. It is easy to imagine what sensations you get if you touch a two-meter eel. A person with such close communication receives a blow of 600 V and one can die from it. Electric eel sends powerful force waves up to 150 times a day. But the strangest thing is that, despite such weapons, the eel feeds mainly on small fish.
To kill a fish, an electric eel is enough to shudder, releasing a current. The victim dies instantly. The eel grabs it from the bottom, always from the head, and then, sinking to the bottom, digests the prey for several minutes.

Electric eels live in the rivers of South America, in in large numbers found in the waters of the Amazon. In those places where the eel lives, most often there is a large lack of oxygen. Therefore, the electric eel has a peculiarity of behavior. Eels stay under water for about 2 hours, and then swim to the surface and breathe there for 10 minutes, while ordinary fish only need to surface for a few seconds.
Electric eels are large fish that look like huge fat worms: an adult can reach a length of up to 3 meters and weigh up to 40 kilograms. The body is elongated, slightly flattened laterally. The skin is bare, not covered with scales. The fins are very developed, with their help, the electric eel is able to easily move in all directions. The color of adult electric eels is brown, the underside of the head and throat is bright orange. The coloration of young individuals is paler.

The most interesting thing about the structure of electric eels is its electric organs, which occupy more than 2/3 of the body length. The positive pole of this "battery" lies in the front of the eel's body, the negative - in the back. The highest discharge voltage, according to observations in aquariums, can reach 650 V, but usually it is less, and in fish of a meter length it does not exceed 350 V. This power is enough to light 5 electric bulbs. The main electrical organs are used by the eel to protect itself from enemies and to paralyze prey. There is another additional electric organ, but the field generated by it plays the role of a locator: with the help of interference that occurs within this field, the eel receives information about obstacles in the way or about the approach of potential prey. The frequency of these location discharges is very small and is practically imperceptible for a person.

The discharge itself, which electric eels produce, is not fatal to humans, but it is still very dangerous. If you get an electric shock while underwater, you can easily lose consciousness.

Electric eel is aggressive. It can attack without warning, even if there is no threat to it. If something living gets into the area of ​​​​its force field, then the eel will not hide or swim away. It is better for the person himself to sail aside if an electric eel appears on the way. You should not swim up to this fish at a distance less than 3 meters, this is precisely the main range of the meter eel field.

stingray- Another dangerous fish of the Amazon.
The sandbank, where the bottom is perfectly visible, seems safe. But under a thin layer of sand, a flat, painted to match the color of the bottom, Araya river stingray, as the Brazilians call it, rests. An alarmed stingray beats with its tail, in the middle of which two serrated poisonous stilettos stick out. Poison flows down the groove into the spikes from a special gland, so the wound inflicted by the stingray is very painful. Having received a blow with stilettos, a person jumps out of the water, spurred unbearable pain like a fiery whip. And then he falls to the sand, bleeding and losing consciousness. Wounds from poisoned stingray stilettos are said to be mostly fatal.
The Amazonian Indians use the large and durable spike of the stingray as an arrowhead. River stingrays, unlike their closest relatives, stingrays, are typical freshwater animals that inhabit the rivers of the Amazon basin. In addition to the Amazon, they are no longer found in any rivers, but only in the seas. Amazonian rays belong to the class cartilaginous fish, to the order of stingrays, to the family of river stingrays.

Candiru, or carnero - tiny, similar to a worm. Its length is 7-15 centimeters, and its thickness is only a few millimeters (on top of that, it is also half transparent). Candiru in the blink of an eye climbs into the natural openings on the body of a bathing person and bites into their walls from the inside. It is impossible to pull it out without surgical intervention.
The author of the book "In the Amazon Jungle" Elgot Lenj, who lived twelve months full of adventures in the Amazonian forests, says that among the forest inhabitants, because of the fear of the candiru, it became a custom to bathe only in special baths. Low above the water they build a boardwalk. A window is cut through in the middle - through it the bather draws water with a nut shell and, after a thorough examination, pours himself over himself.
Tropical fish - common Vandellia or Candiru (lat. Vandellia cirrhosa), (English Candiru) lives in the Amazon and terrifies the local population. This small catfish, although some species reach 15 cm.

Asspread catfish live only in the Amazon, preferring brackish water near the mouth. Outwardly, the catfish resembles a tadpole - a wide head without gill covers, a wide and flat chest and a long subtle body. Aspredos are very caring parents - after fertilization, the female literally rubs the caviar into her belly. The eggs stick to the spongy skin, and then grow into it and feed by connecting with the mother's blood vessels. After hatching, the fry leave the mother's belly.

American flake(from the detachment of two-lungs) - one more interesting fish the Amazon basin. It lives in shallow swampy and drying water bodies of the Amazon basin and belongs to the order of the horn-tooth-shaped, the scaly family. Lungfish are a very ancient species of fish. The first lungfish appeared about 380 million years ago and are considered the most ancient fish on the planet. For a long time, such fish were known only from the fossilized remains that archaeologists found. Only in 1835 was it discovered that the protopter fish that lives in African reservoirs is precisely a lungfish.
In fact, six species of this group of fish have survived to this day, and the American flake (from the order of two-lungs) is one of them.
Modern lungfish are fish that live in fresh water. Main Feature which, is that in addition to the gills, like all ordinary fish, they still have real lungs (a modified swim bladder), with the help of which they can successfully breathe atmospheric air. This is where their name comes from.
American flake or lepidosiren is the only representative lungfish living in South America. The length of its body reaches 1.2 m. Lepidosiren usually live in temporary reservoirs, which are filled with water only during heavy rains and floods.

The waters of the Amazon are teeming with even more dangerous monsters that will not leave you the slightest chance. Still want to visit this place? For you, we have prepared a list of the 10 most dangerous animals that live in this river.

black caiman

This is the jock in the world of alligators. The largest individuals reach 6 meters in length. Such creatures have the reaction of a mongoose and the strength of a tiger. Most dangerous predators Amazons who will tear to shreds anyone who falls into their huge maws.

Anaconda

Another huge predator that lives in local waters is the anaconda. This is the largest snake in the world, weighing up to 250 kilograms. Anacondas are 9 meters long and 30 centimeters in diameter. If such a creature wraps itself around a person, he will no longer be saved. These monsters love shallow water, so they spend most of their time in the tributaries of the river.


Arapaima

These giants have armored scales, so even piranhas are nothing to them. Arapaim hunt mainly for smaller fish and birds, but are not averse to eating human beings. Fish grow up to three meters in length and weigh up to 90 kilograms. The monsters are so ferocious that they even have teeth on their tongues.


brazilian otter

Even the otters here are gigantic. These 2-meter animals prey on fish and crabs. However, strength is in numbers: straying into flocks, they kill adult anacondas and even caimans. If for these creatures, which are called river wolves, it is not a problem to kill such strong animals, then people for them are just a snack.


Common vandellia (Brazilian vampire)

Small individuals enter the human body through the anus, vaginal opening and even through the penis. Having settled inside the body, they can cause hellish pain. The poor fellows, who have felt such torment, pray to doctors for salvation.

bull sharks

Such cute little animals most often live in salty ocean water. Unfortunately, sometimes they swim in fresh water and terrify the locals. Their jaws provide a bite force of 589 kilograms. After meeting with them, usually no one survived.


electric eels

I wouldn't recommend taking these babies. Two-meter eels can hit the victim with a charge of up to 600 volts. And this, by the way, is almost 3 times more than in your outlet. It seems like a killer tension, but it's not.

It's not the discharge that kills. The victim simply stops breathing from the pain shock, and she drowns in the water.


common piranha

These little critters often feature in Hollywood horror movies. And it's not without reason that they have gained fame as ruthless killers. Sharp teeth these fish close up and tear the flesh to shreds.

It is noteworthy that piranhas are scavengers. But they do not disdain to eat fresh meat.


Mackerel hydrolic

These underwater bloodsuckers have truly vampire fangs. Only these fangs are found on the lower jaw of hydrolytics. The victim is impaled on them, as if on a stake, and can no longer escape anywhere. There are even special holes in the palate of hydrolics to hide such long fangs.


brown pacu

These fish with human smiles are relatives of the piranhas mentioned earlier. Although the pacu prefer fruits and nuts, they are not averse to biting someone. There were cases when these stupid fish in literally chewed off the testicles of men swimming naked. I would never want to be in their place.


The beautiful and majestic Amazon is fraught with many dangers. It attracts lovers of extreme recreation, who pay for the experience with their health and even life.

1. Arapaima (Arapaima gigas)
It is very unlikely that you will catch this specimen of fish, but there is always a chance. Arapaima, also known as pirakuchu or paixe, is a huge carnivorous fish that can be found in the Amazon River and its surrounding lakes. Fortunately, this prehistoric giant fish prefers to prey on other fish and birds rather than humans, and are such efficient predators that they can even live in piranha-infested waters. They usually stay close to the surface of the water because they need to take in extra oxygen through their gills. Arapaima can reach two and a half meters in length and weigh up to 90 kilograms and are the world's largest freshwater fish.

2. Tambaki (Colossoma macropomum)
Also known as paku, tambaki are the seeds and fruits that this fish feeds on. A member of the piranha family, the species can reach up to one meter in length and weigh up to 45 kilograms. She is probably the most valuable fish in the region. The fish often feed on the seeds of the rubber tree and are commonly found in the waters near Manaus in Brazil.

4. Red Piranha (Pygocentrus nattereri)
Possibly the most famous and most dangerous sea ​​creature Amazons, the big-bellied piranha has been depicted everywhere as one of the most dangerous fish in the popular Amazon River, in fact it is not. The fish are mainly scavengers that can grow up to 30 centimeters in length. In Hollywood movies, they are shown to eat their prey to the bone in minutes, in fact, this is quite a rare occurrence and usually only happens when a school of fish is starving for a very long time.

5. Armored catfish
Characterized by bony plates covering their skin. Armored catfish, a member of the loricarid family, usually have a ventral suctermute with papillae on the lips that allow them to feed and breathe. The armored catfish is also known as "Plek", various varieties of armored catfish can be found in the Amazon region. The fish can eat wood, but they cannot digest it and excrete undigested pieces of wood as waste.

6. Electric eel ( Electrophorus electricus)
Despite the name, the electric eel is not actually an eel, it is a fish. Electric eel can reach about two and a half meters in length and weigh about 22-23 kilograms. Adult electric eels deliver a discharge that can reach 650 volts. This is quite enough to cause very severe damage to a person in the water up to instant death. Usually lives at a depth, in dirty ground. After his death, the eel can contain a strong electrical discharge for another 8 hours. In connection with what locals living on the banks of the Amazon always try to avoid this type of fish.

7. Pancake stingrays
Fish literally resembling pancakes. This species was discovered in 2012 in Rio Nanai near Iquitos, Peru. Freshwater stingrays are known to grow up to about 450 kilograms and have over 40 various kinds many of which are constantly found in the Amazon River.

8. Bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas)
Traditionally sea ​​fish, otherwise called Bull Shark, has adapted to freshwater and is most often found in Brazil due to its proximity to the ocean. These smart creatures have developed special osmoregulatory buds that allow them to change the salinity of the water where they live. Their kidneys basically process the vital salts they need throughout their body, allowing them to constantly move to freshwater areas.

9. Payara Vampire Fish (Hydrolycus scomberoides)
Payara or vampire fish can be found in most areas of the Amazon in Brazil, Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador. Known for being an extremely aggressive type of fish (and looking like a vampire!). Vampire fish are most commonly found in fast moving water and rapids, which tends to make them harder to spot. Fierce predators can eat fish half their own body size, which is usually about one meter long and weighs about 18 kilograms. Its striking feature is its two front fangs.

10. Peacock bass or Tucunar Peacock Bass (Cichla Temensis)
Tucunar Peacock Bass is native to the Rio Negro, Watuma, and Orinocoin basins of northern South America. This special kind Basa is also known as: spotted pavon, spotted peacock or painted pavon. This is a very large South American cichlid and a very valuable fish. Reaches almost 1 meter in length and weighs more than 12 kg. Peacock basses are most often found in rapids and in still waters of medium depth. They feed only on small fish, especially filamentous fish, mosquitoes, tilapia and blue fungus.