Brachyplatystoma vaillantii

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Brachyplatystoma vaillantii
Piramutaba.png
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Siluriformes
Family: Pimelodidae
Genus: Brachyplatystoma
Species:
B. vaillantii
Binomial name
Brachyplatystoma vaillantii
(Valenciennes, 1840)
Synonyms
  • Bagrus piramuta
  • Bagrus reticulatus
  • Brachyplatystoma parnahybae
  • Piramutana piramuta
  • Platystoma vaillantii

Brachyplatystoma vaillantii, the Laulao catfish, piramutaba or piramuta, is a species of catfish of the family Pimelodidae that is native to Amazon and Orinoco River basins and major rivers of the Guianas and northeastern Brazil. [2] [3]

Contents

Etymology

The fish is named in honor of François Levaillant (1753-1824) a French explorer, naturalist and zoological collector, who brought the type specimens to Europe. [4]

Description

It grows to a length of 150 centimetres (59 in), though is more commonly 80 centimetres (31 in). [2] Dorsum dark to light grey or brown, no spots or stripes. Ventrum much paler to give striking counter shading. [5] It is the most basal species in the genus., [6] and the type species.

Distribution

It is a much widespread species that is found in rivers and estuaries of Amazon and Orinoco watersheds, Guianas and northeastern Brazil. [3]

Ecology

It is found in both freshwater and brackish water systems. It is a demersal potamodromous fish commonly inhabits muddy waters and deeper, flowing channels. Developing young are carried downriver by the current, [7] ending up in estuaries. [8] Juveniles and sub adults are migratory. [3] It is entirely piscivorous preying on loricariids and other bottom-dwelling fish. [5] [9]

Relation to humans

B. vaillantii is extremely important for local fisheries, often being the most caught fish by weight in Brazil, [10] with a peak recorded catch of 29 thousand tons in the 1970s. Afterwards, the piramutaba stocks had shown signs of depletion, and subsequent recovery. [8] [11]

References

  1. ↑ Salvador, G.N. (2024). "Brachyplatystoma vaillantii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2024 e.T49829992A91630636. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2024-1.RLTS.T49829992A91630636.en . Retrieved 16 November 2025.
  2. 1 2 Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.). "Brachyplatystoma vaillantii". FishBase . June 2020 version.
  3. 1 2 3 "Cat-eLog - Pimelodidae - Brachyplatystoma vaillantii". Planet Catfish. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
  4. ↑ Christopher Scharpf & Kenneth J. Lazara (16 September 2024). "Family PIMELODIDAE Bonaparte 1835 (Long-whiskered Catfishes)". The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database. Christopher Scharpf and Kenneth J. Lazara. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
  5. 1 2 "Brachyplatystoma vaillantii (VALENCIENNES, 1840) - Piramuta". Seriously Fish. Retrieved 2020-06-02.
  6. ↑ Lundberg, John G.; Akama, Alberto (2005). Buth, D. (ed.). "Brachyplatystoma capapretum: a New Species of Goliath Catfish from the Amazon Basin, with a Reclassification of Allied Catfishes (Siluriformes: Pimelodidae)". Copeia . 2005 (3): 492–516. doi:10.1643/CI-04-036R1. S2CID   85923139.
  7. ↑ Rojas, María; Olivera, Robinson; Quispe, Roberto; Hernán, Ortega (July 2007). "Estudio preliminar de ictioplancton de la Amazonia peruana con énfasis en la familia Pimelodidae" [Preliminary study of the Peruvian Amazon ichthyoplankton with emphasis on the Pimelodidae family]. Revista Peruana de Biología (in Spanish). 13 (3). Peru Biol.: 263–266. doi: 10.15381/rpb.v13i3.2354 .
  8. 1 2 Jimenez, Erica Antunez; Filho, Mutsuo Asano; Frédou, Flávia Lucena (June 2013). "FISH BYCATCH OF THE LAULAO CATFISH Brachyplatystoma vaillantii (VALENCIENNES, 1840) TRAWL FISHERY IN THE AMAZON ESTUARY". Brazilian Journal of Oceanography. 61 (2): 129–140. doi: 10.1590/S1679-87592013000200005 .
  9. ↑ Lopes, Taise Miranda; da Câmara, Luís Fernando; Dufech, A. P. S. (2017). CARACTERIZAÇÃO DA DIETA DA PIRAMUTABA Brachyplatystoma vaillantii (SILURIFORMES: PIMELODIDAE), NO RIO MADEIRA, RONDÔNIA, BRASIL [CHARACTERIZATION OF THE DIET OF THE PIRAMUTABA Brachyplatystoma vaillantii (SILURIFORMES: PIMELODIDAE), IN THE MADEIRA RIVER, RONDÔNIA, BRAZIL]. XXII BRAZILIAN MEETING OF ICTIOLOGY (in Brazilian Portuguese). Porto Seguro: Neotropical Consultoria Ambiental – via ResearchGate.
  10. ↑ Araujo-Lima, C.A.R.M.; M.L. Ruffino (2003). "Migratory Fishes of the Brazilian Amazon". In Carolsfeld, J.; B. Harvey; C. Ross; A. Baer (eds.). Migratory Fishes of South America. pp. 233–302. ISBN   9781552501146.
  11. ↑ "Fishery and Aquaculture Country Profiles The Federative Republic of Brazil". fao.org. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 10 November 2024.


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