{{Short description|Very large Amazonian catfish}} {{Missing information|material discussed in Brachyplatystoma|date=April 2025}} {{Speciesbox | image = Piraiba flip ed.jpg | image_caption = Captive individual | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref>{{cite iucn |author=Salvador, G.N. |year=2023 |title=''Brachyplatystoma filamentosum'' |volume=2023 |article-number=e.T49829997A91630532 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2023-1.RLTS.T49829997A91630532.en |access-date=16 November 2025}}</ref> | taxon = Brachyplatystoma filamentosum | authority = (Lichtenstein, 1819) | synonyms = *''Brachyplatystoma goeldii'' *''Pimelodus filamentosus'' *''Piratinga piraaiba'' *''Platystoma affine'' *''Platystoma gigas'' *''Sorubimichthys gigas'' }}
'''''Brachyplatystoma filamentosum''''', commonly called '''''piraíba''''', '''''kumakuma''''', '''''valentón''''' or '''''laulau''''', and '''goliath catfish''' is a species of catfish in the family Pimelodidae which is native to the Amazon and Orinoco River basins, rivers of the Guianas and North-eastern Brazil.<ref name=Fishbase/><ref name= kuma>{{Cite web|url=https://www.planetcatfish.com/common/species.php?task=&species_id=1178|title=Cat-eLog - Pimelodidae - Brachyplatystoma vaillantii |website=Planet Catfish|language=English|access-date=2020-06-02}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> It is an important predator in its ecosystem, and in turn is a food fish.
==Description== The name "''piraíba''" is used by locals to define ''B. filamentosum'' specimens larger than 1.6 m (50 kg), while the term "''filhote''" is used for smaller individuals.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Angling |first=Acute |date=July 22, 2025 |title=Giant Catfish of the Amazon — The Apex Predators of South America's Waters |url=https://acuteangling.com/post/giant-catfish-amazon-guide |access-date=2025-08-28 |website=acuteangling.com |language=en}}</ref>
The piraíba reaches up to {{convert|3.6|m|ft}} in length and {{convert|200|kg|lbs}} in weight, though most individuals do not reach these dimensions, more commonly being {{convert|120|cm|in}}.<ref name=Fishbase>{{FishBase |Brachyplatystoma|filamentosum |month= November|year= 2024}}</ref> Juveniles exhibit dark body spots or blotches.<ref name= piraiba>{{Cite web|url=https://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/brachyplatystoma-filamentosum/|title=''Brachyplatystoma filamentosum'' (Lichtenstein, 1819) - Piraíba |website=Seriously Fish|language=English|access-date=2020-06-02}}</ref> Like all fish in the ''Brachyplatystoma'' genus, the piraíba's single, outermost ray of the caudal fin extends into long filamentous extensions, which are complemented by long maxillary barbels that extend past the dorsal fin. The maxillary barbels may even extend to the caudal fin, especially when young. These long filaments and barbels are only reliably found on juveniles and sub-adults; it is assumed they are shortened or severed in attacks by other fish, or by accident.
''B. capapretum'', also called the "false piraíba", was recognized as distinct from ''B. filamentosum'' and described in 2005.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Angling |first=Acute |date=2025-09-15 |title=Piraíba Species Guide {{!}} Acute Angling |url=https://acuteangling.com/piraiba-species-guide |access-date=2025-09-18 |website=acuteangling.com |language=en}}</ref> These two species are sister genera; the species are assumed to be ecologically similar, and most locals do not differentiate between the two.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/250067551|title=''Brachyplatystoma capapretum'': a New Species of Goliath Catfish from the Amazon Basin, with a Reclassification of Allied Catfishes (Siluriformes: Pimelodidae)|journal=Copeia|year=2005|pages=492–516|issue=3|last=Lundberg|first=John G.|author2=Akama, Alberto|doi=10.1643/CI-04-036R1|volume=2005|s2cid=85923139 |editor1-last=Buth|editor1-first=D.}}</ref> The two species can be differentiated through premaxillary dentition, juvenile and adult colouration, and adult maxillary barbel length and caudal fin shape. Both species exhibit spotting in their juvenile stages, although in ''B. filamentosum'' these spots are about the same size as the eye, while in ''B. capapretum'' these spots are much larger in diameter.
The adult ''B. filamentosum'' has a relatively light dorsum, especially when compared to ''B. capapretum'', which has a very dark or even black dorsum.<ref name="newsp">{{cite journal|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/250067551|title=''Brachyplatystoma capapretum'': a New Species of Goliath Catfish from the Amazon Basin, with a Reclassification of Allied Catfishes (Siluriformes: Pimelodidae)|journal=Copeia|year=2005|pages=492–516|issue=3|last=Lundberg|first=John G.|author2=Akama, Alberto|doi=10.1643/CI-04-036R1|volume=2005|s2cid=85923139 |editor1-last=Buth|editor1-first=D.}}</ref> Adult ''B. filamentosum'' have dark grey colouring on the dorsal side of the body, with a lighter white underside. They have paired pectoral fins, pelvic fins, a single unpaired dorsal fin, anal fin, and an adipose fin. The caudal fin is forked. While their body structure is somewhat reminiscent of a shark, they can be identified by their 3 pairs of barbels around the mouth. thumb|The tail filament of this individual remained intact
The mitogenome of the piraíba was sequenced in 2025; it was found to possess 16,566 base pairs.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lilian Dantas Cavalcante |first1=Renata |last2=Santos Silva |first2=Caio |last3=Ferreira Vidal |first3=Amanda |last4=Soares Pires |first4=Éder |last5=Lopes Nunes |first5=Gisele |last6=Fogaça De Assis Montag |first6=Luciano |last7=Oliveira |first7=Guilherme |last8=Ribeiro-Dos-Santos |first8=Ândrea |last9=Santos |first9=Sidney |last10=José De Souza |first10=Sandro |last11=Estefano De Santana Souza |first11=Jorge |last12=Sakamoto |first12=Tetsu |title=The complete mitogenome of Amazonian Brachyplatystoma filamentosum and the evolutionary history of body size in the order Siluriformes |journal=Scientific Reports |date=21 March 2025 |volume=15 |issue=1 |page=9873 |doi=10.1038/s41598-025-94272-y |pmid=40119108 |bibcode=2025NatSR..15.9873L |pmc=11928636 }}</ref>
==Distribution== The species is found in rivers and estuaries of Amazon and Orinoco watersheds, Guianas and northeastern Brazil.<ref name= kuma />
==Ecology== ''B. filamentosum'' is found in both freshwater and brackish water systems. The species is a demersal potamodromous fish that commonly inhabits deeper, flowing channels with soft bottoms.<ref name= kuma /> [[File:Pseudoplatystoma fasciatum.jpg|thumb|Despite being sizeable predators themselves, surubí may fall prey to the piraíba]] The piraíba is strongly predatory, mainly preying on a wide variety of fish. The fish preyed upon include ''Achirus'' soles; characins from the genera ''Brycon'', ''Colossoma'', ''Hemiodus'', ''Leporinus'', ''Myleus'', ''Mylossoma'', ''Prochilodus'', ''Schizodon'', ''Semaprochilodus'', ''Rhytiodus'', ''Triportheus'', along with indeterminate Curimatidae; catfish such as ''Ageneiosus'', ''Calophysus'' vulture catfish, ''Hypophthalmus'', ''Pareiodon'' candiru, ''Pimelodella'', ''Pimelodus'', ''Sorubim'', and indeterminate members of the families Cetopsidae, Pimelodidae, and Trichomycteridae; Cichlids, Gymnotiformes, ''Pellona'', and drums like ''Pachypops'' and ''Plagioscion''. The piraíba is notable for its audacious propensity for tackling difficult prey items, such as toxic ''Colomesus'' pufferfish and stingrays; armored catfish among the Doradidae and Loricariidae, such as ''Doras'' and ''Oxydoras''; and other predatory fish like ''Pseudoplatystoma'' and ''Rhaphiodon'' which are all taken by the piraíba, solidifying its position as top-order carnivore.<!--I would've preferred to have cited a paper instead of what is basically a blogpost, especially one trying to tell a good story, but unfortunately i was not able to find any paper that resulted from this research. So Franklin Institute it is--><ref name="WherePaper">{{cite web |last1=Rodriguez |first1=Carlos Alberto |last2=Hammen |first2=Maria Clara van der |last3=Trujillo |first3=Luis Angel |last4=Confucio |first4=Hernandez |title=From Local Knowledge: Ecological Relationships in the World of Water |url=https://humanitiesfutures.org/papers/from-local-knowledge-ecological-relationships-in-the-world-of-water/ |website=humanitiesfutures.org |date=23 October 2018 |publisher=Duke University |access-date=10 November 2024}}</ref><ref name= piraiba /> Only the river dolphins has been recounted to prey on the piraíba, but even then, they may fail at killing and consuming much of the catfish; the doomed piraíba is then left crippled and at the mercy of the currents and riverine scavengers, such as the two genera of catfish referred to as candiru, and the aptly-named vulture catfish.<ref name="WherePaper" /> Juvenile piraíba|thumb Piraíba begin their life as ichthyoplankton, metamorphosing through their larval stages as they drift downriver<ref name="RioDeMadre">{{cite journal |last1=Rojas |first1=María |last2=Olivera |first2=Robinson |last3=Quispe |first3=Roberto |last4=Hernán |first4=Ortega |title=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) |journal=Revista Peruana de Biología |date=July 2007 |volume=13 |issue=3 |pages=263–266 |publisher=Peru Biol. |doi=10.15381/rpb.v13i3.2354 |doi-access=free }}</ref> The young take aquatic invertebrates, such as diplostracans, rotifers, and aquatic insects, along with other arthropods adrift in the current.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Márquez-Velásquez |first1=Viviana |last2=Leite |first2=Rosseval Galdino |last3=Hernandez-Serna |first3=Andres |last4=Alvarado |first4=Fredy |title=Larval diet of two Amazonian goliath catfish species |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jfb.14565 |journal=Journal of Fish Biology |date=2021 |volume=98 |issue=1 |pages=333–336 |doi=10.1111/jfb.14565 |pmid=32997350 |bibcode=2021JFBio..98..333M |access-date=10 November 2024|url-access=subscription }}</ref> As potamodromous fish, they reach the rivers estuaries, where they remain for some time to continue growing and maturing.<ref name="Fishbase" /><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jimenez |first1=Erica Antunez |last2=Filho |first2=Mutsuo Asano |last3=Frédou |first3=Flávia Lucena |title=Fish Bycatch Of The Laulao Catfish Brachyplatystoma vaillantii (Valenciennes, 1840) Trawl Fishery In The Amazon Estuary |journal=Brazilian Journal of Oceanography |date=June 2013 |volume=61 |issue=2 |pages=129–140 |doi=10.1590/S1679-87592013000200005 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Eventually, the immature fish swim up the river to return to their spawning grounds. Mature adults may then return to the estuary to feed.<ref name="FWS" />
Spawning tends to occur in rising and high water periods, typically between February and June. In their larval stage, their diet consists mostly of insect remains and plankton, similar to other fish that are piscivorous as adults. Piraíba migrate across the amazon basin throughout their life. They rear their young in both upstream and estuarine environments.{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}
==Relation to humans== [[File:Brachyplatystoma filamentosum fish market.png|thumb|Piraíba in a fish market]] Piraíba are considered to be game fish, but are more valuable as a food fish; it was considered to be the 6th most important species fished in the Brazilian Amazon in 1998. Due to overfishing, catches have been declining.<ref name=depletion>{{cite journal|title=Review of the large catfish fisheries in the upper Amazon and the stock depletion of ''piraíba'' (''Brachyplatystoma filamentosum'' Lichtenstein)|journal=Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries|last=Petrere|first=Miguel Jr.|author2=Barthem, Ronaldo Borges |author3=Córdoba, Edwin Agudelo |author4= Gómez, Bernardo Corrales |year=2004|volume=14|pages=403–414|doi=10.1007/s11160-004-8362-7|issue=4|bibcode=2004RFBF...14..403P |s2cid=42863956 }}</ref><ref name=":1">Araujo-Lima, C.A.R.M.; and M.L. Ruffino (2003). Migratory Fishes of the Brazilian Amazon. Pp. 233–302 in: Carolsfeld, J.; B. Harvey; C. Ross; and A. Baer (editors). Migratory Fishes of South America. {{isbn|9781552501146}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cruz |first1=R. E. A. |last2=Kaplan |first2=D. A. |last3=Santos |first3=P. B. |last4=Avila-da-Silva |first4=A. O. |last5=Marques |first5=E. E. |last6=Isaac |first6=V. J. |title=Trends and environmental drivers of giant catfish catch in the lower Amazon River |url=https://www.publish.csiro.au/MF/MF20098 |journal=Marine and Freshwater Research |date=2021 |volume=72 |issue=5 |page=647 |doi=10.1071/MF20098 |bibcode=2021MFRes..72..647C |access-date=10 November 2024|url-access=subscription }}</ref> [[File:Piraíba (Goliath Catfish).jpg|thumb|Piraíba are gamefish]] These large species are used as food for people in South America, specifically the communities that are housed around the rivers. The skin residue is high in fatty acids and proteins, and is a usable alternative for several products, including gelatin. Gelatin is primarily produced using cows, which may introduce the risk of bovine spongiform encephalopathy. Fish residue as an alternative would mitigate this risk, as well as the other consequences of using cattle products.{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}
Piraíba have often been said to be man-eaters, with claims of attacks or human remains having been reported.<ref name=FWS>{{Cite web|url= https://www.fws.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Ecological-Risk-Screening-Summary-Kumakuma.pdf |title=Kumakuma (''Brachyplatystoma filamentosum'') Ecological Risk Screening Summary |website=fws.gov|language=English|access-date=2020-06-02}}</ref><ref name="Burgess">{{cite book |last1=Burgess |first1=W.E. |title=An atlas of freshwater and marine catfishes. A preliminary survey of the Siluriformes. |date=1989 |publisher=T.F.H. Publications, Inc. |location=Neptune City, New Jersey (USA) |page=784 |url=https://fishbase.de/references/FBRefSummary.php?ID=6868 |access-date=10 November 2024}}</ref> As recounted in the book ''Through the Brazilian Wilderness'', during the Roosevelt–Rondon Scientific Expedition, Theodore Roosevelt and company claimed to have consumed a {{cvt|3.5|ft}}-long catfish of an unspecified species that contained the mostly digested remains of a monkey, which "astounded" the American expeditioners. Brazilian members of the expedition though shared stories of the piraíba; "a grayish-white fish over nine feet long, with the usual disproportionately large head and gaping mouth, with a circle of small teeth"; the expedition's doctor had witnessed two men killing a piraíba using their machetes after the fish had apparently jumped towards their canoe "with open mouth", with the fish's carcass subsequently paraded around town. Colonel Rondon said that the people inhabiting the lower Madeira constructed "stockaded enclosures in the water in which they bathed", ostensibly to protect from both the piraíba and the "big cayman"; the catfish were as or even more feared than the "big cayman" by swimmers, as the piraíba's habit of ambushing from the "bottom of the water" supposedly made it more dangerous than the caimans, which were more visible in comparison.<ref name=Roosevelt>{{Cite book | last = Roosevelt | first = Theodore | author-link = Theodore Roosevelt | title = Through the Brazilian Wilderness | url = http://www.s4ulanguages.com/theodore.html | publisher = S4u languages | format = facsimile | edition = 1st | year = 1914 | hdl = 2027/nyp.33433081694915 | hdl-access = free | access-date = February 25, 2010 | archive-date = February 28, 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100228180135/http://www.s4ulanguages.com/theodore.html | url-status = live }}</ref><ref name="Gutenberg">{{Gutenberg book|no=11746|name=Through the Brazilian Wilderness|year=Mar 1, 2004|author=Theodore Roosevelt|origyear=|access-date=3 June 2025}}</ref>
Furthermore, in one account documented on the television series ''River Monsters'', a local fisherman was apparently found having been swallowed head-first up to his waist by a piraíba, with neither the fish nor the fisherman surviving the encounter. However, the episode itself states that the details surrounding this account are vague and unreliable.<ref name="River Monsters">{{cite web |title=River Monsters Full Episode - Season 1, Episode 5 - Amazon Flesh Eaters |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGPOKk0xJF4 |website=youtube.com | date=20 November 2024 |publisher=Icon Films for Animal Planet |access-date=16 April 2025}}</ref>
Piraíba are sometimes kept in aquaria, although the adults need a very large tank to accommodate their active swimming habits.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Jarikov |first1=Viktor |title=True piraiba aka Brachyplatystoma filamentosum |url=https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/true-piraiba-aka-brachyplatystoma-filamentosum.688117/ |website=monsterfishkeepers.com |date=30 May 2017 |publisher=MonsterFishKeepers |access-date=12 December 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Cat-eLog > Pimelodidae > ''Brachyplatystoma filamentosum'' |url=https://www.planetcatfish.com/common/species.php?task=&species_id=598 |website=planetcatfish.com |publisher=Planet Catfish |access-date=10 November 2024}}</ref>
== Conservation status == Piraíba, along with other large amazon catfish species, are important apex predators in the Amazon Basin. This water body serves as a central source for fisheries in South America, providing food for communities in the area.
However, this species, along with several other South American catfishes, are declining in population. Local fisheries are struggling due to overfishing, with records of decreasing catches being a primary indicator of their decline. These catfish are migratory, meaning they are especially sensitive to dam construction and habitat degradation, which impede their ability to migrate throughout the waterways.<ref name=":1" />
Piraíba, along with other predator fish, are also susceptible to mercury contamination; this, along with their role as an important food source, puts many local communities at risk.
Fisheries there are poorly studied and we know relatively little about these species, so our understanding of the ecological impacts are also limited. Chemical analysis of otoliths within specimens has proven to help researchers study migratory patterns of piraíba, helping provide evidence of their life stages at different regions. This serves as an alternative method to physically monitoring their behavior, which eliminates several difficulties the latter method raises.<ref>Hermann, Theodore W., et al. "[https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/abs/10.1098/rsos.160206 Unravelling the life history of Amazonian fishes through otolith microchemistry.]" ''Royal Society open science'' 3.6 (2016): 160206.</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lourenço |first1=Igor Hister |last2=Pelegrini |first2=Larissa Sbeghen |last3=Nahum |first3=Victoria Judith Isaac |last4=dos Anjos |first4=Marcelo Rodrigues |date=2024-02-23 |editor-last=Ghafarifarsani |editor-first=Hamed |title=Analysis of Migratory Catfish Production from Artisanal Fishing in the Middle Madeira Sub-Basin Using New Monitoring Methods, Southwestern Amazon |journal=Journal of Applied Ichthyology |language=en |volume=2024 |pages=1–14 |doi=10.1155/2024/6668857 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2024JApIc2024....1L |issn=1439-0426}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Cruz |first1=R. E. A. |last2=Kaplan |first2=D. A. |last3=Santos |first3=P. B. |last4=Ávila-da-Silva |first4=A. O. |last5=Marques |first5=E. E. |last6=Isaac |first6=V. J. |date=2020-11-11 |title=Trends and environmental drivers of giant catfish catch in the lower Amazon River |url=https://www.publish.csiro.au/mf/mf20098 |journal=Marine and Freshwater Research |language=en |volume=72 |issue=5 |pages=647–657 |doi=10.1071/MF20098 |bibcode=2021MFRes..72..647C |issn=1448-6059|url-access=subscription }}</ref> <ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hegg |first1=Jens C. |last2=Giarrizzo |first2=Tommaso |last3=Kennedy |first3=Brian P. |date=2015-07-08 |title=Diverse Early Life-History Strategies in Migratory Amazonian Catfish: Implications for Conservation and Management |journal=PLOS ONE |language=en |volume=10 |issue=7 |article-number=e0129697 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0129697 |doi-access=free |issn=1932-6203 |pmc=4496080 |pmid=26153984|bibcode=2015PLoSO..1029697H }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |title=Review of the large catfish fisheries in the upper Amazon and the stock depletion of piraíba (Brachyplatystoma filamentosumLichtenstein) |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/773513857 |access-date=2024-11-14 |journal=Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries | date=2004 | doi=10.1007/s11160-004-8362-7 |language=en | last1=Petrere | first1=Miguel | last2=Barthem | first2=Ronaldo Borges | last3=Córdoba | first3=Edwin Agudelo | last4=Gómez | first4=Bernardo Corrales | volume=14 | issue=4 | pages=403–414 | bibcode=2004RFBF...14..403P |id={{ProQuest|773513857}} | url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=García-Dávila |first1=C. |last2=Castro-Ruiz |first2=D. |last3=Renno |first3=J.-F. |last4=Chota-Macuyama |first4=W. |last5=Carvajal-Vallejos |first5=F. M. |last6=Sanchez |first6=H. |last7=Angulo |first7=C. |last8=Nolorbe |first8=C. |last9=Alvarado |first9=J. |last10=Estivals |first10=G. |last11=Núñez-Rodríguez |first11=J. |last12=Duponchelle |first12=F. |date=December 2015 |title=Using barcoding of larvae for investigating the breeding seasons of pimelodid catfishes from the Marañon, Napo and Ucayali rivers in the Peruvian Amazon |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jai.12987 |journal=Journal of Applied Ichthyology |language=en |volume=31 |pages=40–51 |doi=10.1111/jai.12987|bibcode=2015JApIc..31...40G |url-access=subscription }}</ref>{{Taxonbar|from=Q1577680}}
Category:Brachyplatystoma Category:Fish of the Amazon basin Category:Fish of Bolivia Category:Catfish of Brazil Category:Freshwater fish of Colombia Category:Freshwater fish of Ecuador Category:Fish of French Guiana Category:Fish of Guyana Category:Freshwater fish of Peru Category:Fish of Suriname Category:Freshwater fish of Venezuela Category:Taxa named by Hinrich Lichtenstein Category:Fish described in 1819