ZUNGARO ZUNGARO

'''Zungaro zungaro''' a South American catfish (order Siluriformes) of the family Pimelodidae.

Contents

Taxonomy

Distribution and habitat

Description

Ecology

References

Taxonomy

By some sources, it is the only species of the monotypic genus '''Zungaro'''. However, some sources list other species as valid, such as ''Zungaro jahu''.^[1] This species may be referred to by one of its synonyms, ''Brachyplatystoma flavicans''. This species contains two subspecies, ''Z. z. mangurus'' and ''Z. z. zungaro''.

Distribution and habitat

They are sexually mature upon reaching 10 kg (22 lb) weight. This fish originates from the Amazon and Orinoco Rivers; in the Amazon, this fish is found quite upstream, in the main bed of the big tributaries with muddy bottoms.

Description

This fish reaches 140 centimetres (55 in) TL, and specimens measuring 130 cm (51 in) and weighing 50 kilograms (110 lb) are not rare.

Ecology

These fish are mainly piscivorous, hunt at night, and sometimes go into flood prone areas of rivers. Some migrations in pursuit of migrating ''Triportheus'' and ''Anodus'' have been reported. The nursery ground is at the mouths of rivers.

References

1. Checklist of catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes), and catalogue of siluriform primary types, , Carl J., Jr., Ferraris, Zootaxa, 2007