Pacu

scientific name

Colossoma bidens

size

Length: 24-28 in

diet

Wild: herbivore " decaying plants, fruit that falls off trees

habitat/range

Habitat: slow waters in rain-forest
Range: middle-upper Amazon River in Brazil and Peru, Orinoco Basin

status

CITES App I " due to habitat destruction; " Asian pet trade = serious threat; also different parts are believed to be potent medicines, esp. gallbladders " SSP " studbook participant " TAG

other

important food fish " have powerful teeth that can cause serious bites " cousin of the piranha juveniles often mistaken for piranhas

oregon zoo exhibit

Amazon

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