Arapaima (Arapaima gigas) Ecological Risk Screening Summary

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, April 2011 Revised, February 2019 Web Version, 8/19/2019

Photo by: Citron. Licensed under Creative Commons BY-SA 3.0 Unported. Available: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Arapaima_gigas_captivity.jpg. (February 2019).

1 Native Range and Status in the United States Native Range From Froese and Pauly (2019):

“South America: Amazon River basin [Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru]. International trade restricted (CITES II, since [1975]). The active fishing of this fish has reduced both the population size, and occurrence of large individuals, especially around the populated regions of the Amazon [Ferraris 2003].”

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“[In Peru:] Occurs mainly in Ucayali and Marañon Rivers, with the exception of Pacaya-Samiria [Tello and Sánchez 1995].”

Status in the United States There are no reported wild established populations of Arapaima gigas in the United States.

From Shaw (2016):

“On August 26, we turned to animal care and conservation leader Shedd Aquarium for assistance in the rescue and rehabilitation of 102 internationally protected juvenile arapaima (Arapaima gigas) that were confiscated from O’Hare International Airport following an attempted illegal importation for the pet trade industry. The species is one of the world’s largest freshwater fishes and is listed as protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) at the Appendix II level.”

Means of Introductions in the United States There are no reported wild established populations of Arapaima gigas in the United States.

Remarks From Froese and Pauly (2019):

“Threatened due to over harvesting [Stone 2007].”

2 Biology and Ecology Taxonomic Hierarchy and Taxonomic Standing From Fricke et al. (2019):

“Current status: Valid as Arapaima gigas (Schinz 1822).”

From ITIS (2019):

“Kingdom Animalia Subkingdom Bilateria Infrakingdom Deuterostomia Phylum Chordata Subphylum Vertebrata Infraphylum Gnathostomata Superclass Actinopterygii Class Teleostei Superorder Osteoglossomorpha Order Osteoglossiformes Suborder Osteoglossoidei Family Osteoglossidae Subfamily Heterotidinae

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Genus Arapaima Species Arapaima gigas (Schinz, 1822)”

Size, Weight, and Age Range From Froese and Pauly (2019):

“Maturity: Lm ?, range 145 - 154 cm Max length : 450 cm TL male/unsexed [about 14.8 feet]; [Axelrod et al. 1991]; common length : 200 cm [6.6 feet] TL male/unsexed; [Wheeler 1977]; max. published weight: 200.0 kg [about 440 lbs] [Wheeler 1977]”

Environment From Froese and Pauly (2019):

“Freshwater; demersal; pH range: 6.0 - 6.5; dH range: 10 - ? […] 25°C - 29°C [Baensch and Riehl 1985; assumed to be the recommended aquarium temperature]”

Climate/Range From Froese and Pauly (2019):

“Tropical; […] 5°N - 11°S”

Distribution Outside the United States Native From Froese and Pauly (2019):

“South America: Amazon River basin [Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru]. International trade restricted (CITES II, since [1975]). The active fishing of this fish has reduced both the population size, and occurrence of large individuals, especially around the populated regions of the Amazon [Ferraris 2003].”

“[In Peru:] Occurs mainly in Ucayali and Marañon Rivers, with the exception of Pacaya-Samiria [Tello and Sánchez 1995].”

Introduced According to Froese and Pauly (2019), Arapaima gigas has been introduced in Malaysia, Thailand, Mexico, Cuba, China, the Philippines, and Singapore. The status of A. gigas in the wild is listed as probably established in Thailand, unknown in Malaysia, China, and the Philippines, probably not established in Singapore, and not established in Mexico and Cuba

“Introduction [to Mexico] was unsuccessful due to cold climate.”

“Large individuals sighted in Bedok Reservoir and some ponds in eastern Singapore. Possibly also in flooded quarry pits on Pulau Ubin.”

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Means of Introduction Outside the United States From Froese and Pauly (2019):

“There have been reports that this species has been released into natural waters by pet owners, […]”

Froese and Pauly (2019) also list aquaculture as a reason for introduction.

Short Description A description of Arapaima gigas was not available.

Biology From Froese and Pauly (2019):

“Often referred to as the largest freshwater fish [in South America]. Builds a nest of about 15 cm depth and 50 cm width in sandy bottoms. Spawns in April and May and guards the eggs and the young. Obligate air breather [must breathe air]. The fish rises to the surface of the water and inspires air in a noisy, distinctive gulp, which is reported to carry for long distances [Ferraris 2003]. Migrates into higher floodplain habitats with rising water and moves back eventually to lacustrine habitats during low water level [Castello 2008].”

Human Uses From Froese and Pauly (2019):

“Fisheries: commercial; aquaculture: commercial; gamefish: yes; aquarium: public aquariums”

“Much appreciated food fish. Overfished in 1998. Catch prohibited from November to March [in Brazil] (Ref. 27548).”

“Minimum size of capture is 1 m [in Peru]. However, this restriction is hardly enforced (Ref. 557).”

Diseases No OIE-reportable disease (OIE 2019) have been found associated with Arapaimna gigas.

From Froese and Pauly (2019):

“Mexiconema Infestation, Parasitic infestations (protozoa, worms, etc.) Terranova Infection 2, Parasitic infestations (protozoa, worms, etc.) Goezia Disease 6, Parasitic infestations (protozoa, worms, etc.) Goezia Disease 6, Parasitic infestations (protozoa, worms, etc.) Camallanus Infection 15, Parasitic infestations (protozoa, worms, etc.) Nilonema Infection, Parasitic infestations (protozoa, worms, etc.)

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Rumai Infection, Parasitic infestations (protozoa, worms, etc.) Gnathostoma Infestation 3, Parasitic infestations (protozoa, worms, etc.)”

According to Poelen et al. (2014) Arapaima gigas is the host to Schizocoerus liguloideus, Caballerotrema arapaimense, Pucciniastrum, Dawestrema cycloancistrioides, Dawestrema cycloancistrium, Dawestrema punctata, and Caballerotrema.

Threat to Humans From Froese and Pauly (2019):

“Harmless”

3 Impacts of Introductions Although Arapaima gigas has been recorded as introduced outside of its native range, there is no information available for the impacts these introductions have had.

4 Global Distribution

Figure 1. Known global distribution of Arapaima gigas. Map from GBIF Secretariat (2019). Points located in North America and in Thailand were not used to select source points in the climate match because they do not represent wild or established populations of Arapaima gigas.

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5 Distribution Within the United States

Figure 2. Known distribution of Arapaima gigas in the United States. Map from BISON (2019). These points do not represent established wild populations; they are museum specimens or have been confiscated at an airport (Shaw 2016; BISON 2019). No wild populations have been reported in the United States.

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6 Climate Matching Summary of Climate Matching Analysis The climate match for Arapaima gigas was low for the majority of the contiguous United States. There were some patches of medium match along the southern border from Texas to Florida, with areas of high match in southern Florida. The Climate 6 score (Sanders et al. 2018; 16 climate variables; Euclidean distance) for the contiguous United States was 0.002, low (scores between 0.000 and 0.005, inclusive, are classified as low). All States had low individual Climate 6 scores except for Florida, which had a high individual Climate 6 score.

Figure 3. RAMP (Sanders et al. 2018) source map showing weather stations in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Guyana, and Ecuador selected as source locations (red) and non-source locations (gray) for Arapaima gigas climate matching. Source locations from GBIF Secretariat (2019). Selected source locations in Bolivia are within 100 km of one or more species occurrences, and do not necessarily represent the locations of occurrences themselves.

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Figure 4. Map of RAMP (Sanders et al. 2018) climate matches for Arapaima gigas in the contiguous United States based on source locations reported by GBIF Secretariat (2019). 0 = Lowest match, 10 = Highest match.

The High, Medium, and Low Climate match Categories are based on the following table:

Climate 6: Proportion of Climate Match (Sum of Climate Scores 6-10) / (Sum of total Climate Scores) Category 0.000≤X≤0.005 Low 0.005

7 Certainty of Assessment The certainty of assessment for Arapaima gigas is low. There is minimal information available for this species. The species has been introduced outside its native range and there is some information on the pathways of introduction. No information was found on impacts of introduction.

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8 Risk Assessment Summary of Risk to the Contiguous United States Arapaima gigas is a large freshwater fish that is native to the Amazon River basin and can reach up to 200 kg (440 lbs) and 450 cm (14.8 feet) long maximum (commonly about 200 cm [6.6 feet]). A. gigas rises to the surface to breathe air. This species has been declining in its native range due to fishing pressure. A. gigas has been introduced into Malaysia, Thailand, Mexico, Cuba, China, the Philippines, and Singapore, but it is unlikely that the introduced populations in Mexico, Cuba, and Singapore became established. There have been reports of A. gigas in the United States but none were found in the wild. Despite the history of introduction for this species, there is little information on its status in those countries today and there has been no reported information on the impact of their introductions. The climate match for the contiguous United States was low with all States having low individual climate scores except Florida, which had a high score. The certainty of assessment is low. The overall risk assessment category for Arapaima gigas is uncertain.

Assessment Elements  History of Invasiveness (Sec. 3): None documented  Climate Match (Sec. 6): Low  Certainty of Assessment (Sec. 7): Low  Remarks/Important additional information: No additional remarks.  Overall Risk Assessment Category: Uncertain

9 References Note: The following references were accessed for this ERSS. References cited within quoted text but not accessed are included below in Section 10.

BISON. 2019. Biodiversity Information Serving Our Nation (BISON). U.S. Geological Survey. Available: https://bison.usgs.gov. (February 2019).

Fricke, R., W. N. Eschmeyer, and R. van der Laan, editors. 2019. Eschmeyer’s catalog of fishes: genera, species, references. Available: http://researcharchive.calacademy.org/research/ichthyology/catalog/fishcatmain.asp. (February 2019).

Froese, R., and D. Pauly, editors. 2019. Arapaima gigas (Schinz, 1822). FishBase. Available: http://www.fishbase.org/summary/Arapaima-gigas.html. (February 2019).

GBIF Secretariat. 2019. GBIF backbone taxonomy: Arapaima gigas (Schinz, 1822). Global Biodiversity Information Facility, Copenhagen. Available: https://www.gbif.org/species/5212877. (February 2019).

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ITIS (Integrated Taxonomic Information System). 2019. Arapaima gigas (Schinz, 1822). Integrated Taxonomic Information System, Reston, Virginia. Available: https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=650 008#null. (February 2019).

OIE (World Organisation for Animal Health). 2019. OIE-listed diseases, infections and infestations in force in 2019. Available: http://www.oie.int/animal-health-in-the- world/oie-listed-diseases-2019/. (February 2019).

Poelen, J. H., J. D. Simons, and C. J. Mungall. 2014. Global Biotic Interactions: an open infrastructure to share and analyze species-interaction datasets. Ecological Informatics 24:148–159.

Sanders, S., C. Castiglione, and M. Hoff. 2018. Risk assessment mapping program: RAMP, version 3.1. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Shaw, T. 2016. Wildlife trafficking: what happens to confiscated animals? U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service Inside Region 3 (January). Available: https://www.fws.gov/midwest/insider3/January16Story6.htm (February 2019).

10 References Quoted But Not Accessed Note: The following references are cited within quoted text within this ERSS, but were not accessed for its preparation. They are included here to provide the reader with more information.

Axelrod, H. R., W. E. Burgess, N. Pronek, and J. G. Walls. 1991. Dr. Axelrod's atlas of freshwater aquarium fishes. Sixth edition. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune City, New Jersey.

Baensch, H. A., and R. Riehl. 1985. Aquarien atlas, band 2. Mergus, Verlag für Natur-und Heimtierkunde GmbH, Melle, Germany.

Castello, L. 2008. Lateral migration of Arapaima gigas in floodplains of the Amazon. Ecology of Freshwater Fish 17:38–46.

Ferraris, C. J., Jr. 2003. Arapaimatidae (Bonytongues). Page 31 in R. E. Reis, S. O. Kullander, and C. J. Ferraris, Jr., editors. Checklist of the freshwater fishes of South and Central America. EDIPUCRS, Porto Alegre, Brazil.

Stone, R. 2007. The last of the leviathans. Science 316:1684–1688.

Schinz, H. R. 1822. Das Thierreich eingetheilt nach dem Bau der Thiere als Grundlage ihrer Naturgeschichte und der vergleichenden Anatomie. Mit vielen Zusätzenversehen von H. R. Schinz. Cotta, Stuttgart & Tübingen 2:1–83.5

Tello, S., and H. Sánchez. 1995. [no title given.] Unpublished. 10

Wheeler, A. 1977. Das grosse Buch der Fische. Eugen Ulmer GmbH and Co, Stuttgart, Germany.

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