Payara
 | This article may be confusing or unclear to readers. (January 2010) |
| Payara | |
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| Species: | H. scomberoides
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| Binomial name | |
| Hydrolycus scomberoides (Cuvier, 1819)
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The Payara, Hydrolycus scomberoides, (also known as "Dog Tooth Characin", or "Vampire Fish") is a little-known species of gamefish that lives in the Orinoco River in Venezuela. The payara's most noticeable features are the two long fangs protruding from its lower jaw. These fangs can be 4 to 6 inches long. This fish grows about a foot long in captivity.
Payaras eat most fish smaller than them, but the bulk of their diet consists of piranhas, which they impale with their sharp teeth. Payaras also share the same habitat with butterfly peacock bass (Cichla ocellaris). They are also known as cachorras in Venezuela. Payara is restricted to the Amazon River and its tributaries above the mouth of the Rio Tapajós.
References
- "Hydrolycus scomberoides". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 30 January 2006.
- Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Hydrolycus scomberoides". FishBase. October 2005 version.