Payara
| Payara | |
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| Hydrolycus scomberoides (lower illustration) and Rhaphiodon vulpinus (upper illustration) | |
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| Species: | H. scomberoides
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| Binomial name | |
| Hydrolycus scomberoides (Cuvier, 1819)
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Payara, Hydrolycus scomberoides, is found abundantly in Venezuela and in the Amazon Basin.[citation needed]
Description
The payara's most noticeable feature is the two long fangs protruding from its lower jaw. These fangs can be 4 to 6 inches long.[citation needed] Payaras grow to be around 3 feet long with an average length of 1.5 ft.[citation needed] The payara's diet mainly consist of smaller fish; they impale other fish with their sharp teeth and consume them. In the Amazon River Basin, payaras are restricted to tributaries above the mouth of the Rio Tapajós.[citation needed]
In popular culture
The payara is featured in the first season of the Animal Planet show River Monsters.
In the aquarium
The payara, which is also sold as the Saber Tooth Barracuda, Vampire Fish, Vampire Tetra, or Saber Tusk Barracuda, is a popular species for large, aggressive aquariums. It can grow large enough to outgrow a lot of fish tanks. This proposes a problem to the uneducated aquarist. It is recommended that they are fed live food, such as goldfish. They should be kept with fish that they cannot fit in their mouths, tigerfish, arowanas, gars, pacus, catfish, and Fly River Turtles are good examples.