Piaractus brachypomus
species of fish
Piaractus brachypomus also known as the red-bellied Pacu or pirapitinga, is a large species of pacu, a close relative of piranhas and silver dollars, in the serrasalmid family. As with a number of other closely related species, P. brachypomus is often referred to as the red-bellied pacu in reference to the appearance of the juveniles. This has resulted in a great deal of confusion about the nature and needs of all the species involved, with the reputation and requirements of one frequently being wrongly attributed to the others.
Genomics
A chromosome-level genome assembly of Piaractus brachypomus was published in 2026, representing the first reference genome for the species. The genome is approximately 1.34 Gb and comprises 27 chromosomes. The assembly has a BUSCO completeness of 99.8% and contains 25,501 predicted protein-coding genes.
Distribution
It is native to the Amazon basin in tropical South America, but it formerly included populations in the Orinoco, which was described in 2019 as a separate species, P. orinoquensis.
P. brachypomus is widely farmed and has been introduced to regions outside of its native range. In South Florida they are invasive in rivers, canals or lakes.
Ecology
In general, its behavior resembles that of the closely related tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum).
“Piaractus brachypomus” enters the record as species of fish. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Piaractus, brachypomus and species can confirm, complicate or overturn.
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The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 1, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q311732. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2026 and 2019.
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This entry incorporates text from “Piaractus brachypomus” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.