Piraiba

Piraiba (Brachyplatystoma Filamentosum) is the largest Catfish species found in South America. It inhabits the Amazon and Orinoco basins, where it thrives in both freshwater and brackish habitats. Piraiba have elongated bulky silvery gray bodies with white bellies, which makes them look a little bit like sharks. They are easily distinguished by long barbels and red markings on the lips. But Piraiba’s key trait is their truly enormous size, with a maximum recorded length of 3.6 m and a record weight of over 200 kg. Fierce predators, these fish feed primarily on other fish, but cases of them eating monkeys and even humans have been registered as well.