Piaractus mesopotamicus
Encyclopedia
Pacú pez chato ("flat fish"), mbiraí, or piraí, is a South America
n ray-finned fish
that is endemic to the Paraguay
-Paraná River
basin, though it has been introduced by aquaculture activities in a wider area.
P. mesopotamicus is a robust fish, with ovoid shape, flattened laterally. Its colour is dark grey to silver, with a white belly and a yellow breast, and the laterals have small darker spots.
This fish is an omnivore
. Young individuals usually feed on micro-crustacean
s, but adults choose insects and plants, as well as nuts and seeds that fall from trees in flooded forests.
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
n ray-finned fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
that is endemic to the Paraguay
Paraguay River
The Paraguay River is a major river in south central South America, running through Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Argentina...
-Paraná River
Paraná River
The Paraná River is a river in south Central South America, running through Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina for some . It is second in length only to the Amazon River among South American rivers. The name Paraná is an abbreviation of the phrase "para rehe onáva", which comes from the Tupi language...
basin, though it has been introduced by aquaculture activities in a wider area.
P. mesopotamicus is a robust fish, with ovoid shape, flattened laterally. Its colour is dark grey to silver, with a white belly and a yellow breast, and the laterals have small darker spots.
This fish is an omnivore
Omnivore
Omnivores are species that eat both plants and animals as their primary food source...
. Young individuals usually feed on micro-crustacean
Crustacean
Crustaceans form a very large group of arthropods, usually treated as a subphylum, which includes such familiar animals as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles. The 50,000 described species range in size from Stygotantulus stocki at , to the Japanese spider crab with a leg span...
s, but adults choose insects and plants, as well as nuts and seeds that fall from trees in flooded forests.