Amazon Abyss

Join Mike de Gruy, Kate Humble and an international team of scientists and divers in
search of some of the Amazon's most incredible creatures.
First shown April 2005 on BBC One.







The awesome Amazon is wider and deeper at
some points than the English Channel, flowing
6,500km across South America.
It's famous for the surrounding rainforest, which
can take visitors by surprise because it is not all
thick tropical jungle. Watch what dive
cameraman, Mike de Gruy, thought after his
first trip to the river for the Amazon Abyss
expedition.
RealPlayer is needed to view this video. Download it free.
Amazon creatures
The waters too are home to incredible creatures. Here are some of the most amazing
featured in the programmes.
Giant otter Pteronura brasiliensis
The Amazon's rarest large mammal now lives only in the most remote parts of the
region.
It's an intelligent, social animal and at 1.8m long when fully grown, is one of the top
predators of the region's freshwater fish. Partial to shellfish and crabs, the giant otter
carries a favourite rock around to help it break open shells.
The world's biggest species of otter faces very high risk of extinction, according to the
World Conservation Union (the IUCN). No longer hunted for its fur, the giant otter's
survival now depends on protection of the areas in which it lives from destruction and
pollution.
More about the giant otter in Wildfacts or watch video on the external ARKive site.
Back to top
Boto (Amazon river dolphin)
Inia geoffrensis
This is the largest species of freshwater dolphin.
Some people think the boto can stun prey with
a burst of sound, produced in its distinctively
bulbous forehead.
The dolphin's body colour changes through its
lifetime. Beginning dark grey, it turns pale or
vivid pink before fading almost to white.
The neck bones are more flexible than in most other dolphins, so it can move its head
independently of its body. This helps with echolocation in the murky Amazon waters.
Other adaptations for river life include sharp hearing and a long beak. Distinctive
whisker-like hairs around the mouth aid foraging for food in mud.
More about the boto in Wildfacts or watch video on the external ARKive site.
Back to top









Green anaconda Eunectus marinus
This is the world's largest snake and can grow
to 10m long and 130kg in weight.
It hunts birds, reptiles and mammals in and out
of water. The snake coils around its prey,
crushing it until it can no longer breathe. There
are reports of anacondas eating people. The
anaconda doesn't need to feed very often
though perhaps not for three months after a
sizeable kill.
Unusually for a snake, the anaconda does not lay eggs; females give birth to live young.
It is not officially registered as threatened, but it is protected by CITES, the Convention
on International Trade in Endangered Species.
Back to top
Catfish
Thirty-four varieties of catfish make up the Siluriformes order of ray-finned fish. The
Amazon is home to incredible catfish with specialisms to help them survive the tough
conditions.
Wood eating
Panaque fish have spoon-shaped teeth which they use to rasp at submerged wood.
Bacteria in their guts convert plant cellulose into nutritious chemicals.
Air breathing
The water in slow-moving parts of the Amazon river system is often low in the dissolved
oxygen that fish need. Some types of catfish supplement the oxygen their gills absorb
by swallowing air and breathing with their intestines.
Land living
The phraetobius catfish has taken air-breathing
to an extreme. It lives out of water, in the leaf
litter on stream banks. Blood vessels all over its
skin mean its entire body is capable of gaseous
exchange. It has no eyes and uses touch to
detect its insect prey.
Fisherman frightening
The ja (Paulicea lutkeni) is notorious among
native people. It grows to 1.5m and can weigh
over 100kg. Immense strength gives rise to its
reputation for dragging fishermen down into the depths.
Back to top
Electric fish
In the murky river waters of the Amazon basin, sight and smell can be of limited value.
Some fish have turned to using electricity instead.
Navigation
The blind tubesnout lives in deep water, 30m or so down. It uses low voltages to sense
its surroundings.
Communication
Finding a mate is made easier for the glass knifefish, Gymnotus rosamaria, by its ability
to send electrical advertisements to potential partners. At 3045cm in length when fully
grown, the long, thin shape and transparency of this fish is reflected in its name.
Weaponry
The electric eel, Electrophorus electricus, is not a true eel: it has no teeth and doesn't
migrate out to sea. It uses electric fields of up to 500 volts to kill prey. Up to 2.5m long
and 35kg in weight, the eel breathes air, as the waters it lives in are often low in
oxygen.
Back to top









Bloodsucking fish
Candirus are parasitic fish known to feed on
other fish and mammals. Read more and take
part in an online vote.


Find out more in Wildfacts
The Science & Nature Wildfacts database has more information about other creatures
in the Amazon Abyss series:
Capybara
Piranha
Stingray
A name for this bloodsucking fish

The Amazon Abyss expedition discovered this brand new species. Watch the moment it
was found.

RealPlayer is needed to view this video. Download it free.
The 'vampire' fish is a smaller relative of a notorious fish called the candiru. Some of the
candiru's habits are enough to make almost anyone squirm (see "Don't go in the water"
below).
The new fish is about 25mm long and feeds off larger fish by swimming into their gill
slits and sucking their blood.
One of the expedition scientists, Mrio de Pinna
from the University of So Paulo, came up with
five suggestions for its scientific name. He
offered readers of this website the chance to
vote for their favourite.
Paracanthopoma draculae
This name is homage to Bram Stoker's fictional
vampire, Dracula.

Paracanthopoma irritans
'Irritans' is part of the scientific name for the
human flea. Fish probably find this little parasite
equally annoying.

Paracanthopoma minuta
This suggested name reflects the fact that the
new fish is a small member of the family.

Paracanthopoma nosferatu
One of the earliest film adaptations of the Dracula story is Friederich Murnau's silent
1922 version, Nosferatu.

Paracanthopoma vampyra
If you can't decide which vampire you prefer, you could hedge your bets.
Over 10,000 votes were cast. The winning name was Paracanthopoma vampyra.
Back to top
How species are named
The naming conventions for plants, animals and bacteria have been established
gradually since the 16th century.




Don't go in the water
The candiru feeds parasitically by
burrowing into body orifices then
drinking the blood of its victim.
It detects urine in the water to find
a host.
It can lodge itself in the urethra, the
tube inside the penis.
Barbs along its sides jam it in place.
Removing one without surgery is
almost impossible.

The modern binomial system uses a pair of names to describe an organism by its
species and its genus (group).
It is often credited to the 18th century Swedish scientist Carl von Linn but Casper
Bauhin, a botanist working in Switzerland, first used this approach in 1623.
Linn (also known as Carolus Linnaeus, perhaps because of his fondness for using Latin
words) did formalise the technique. His 1758 publication Systema Naturae is accepted
the world over as the basis for all modern species names.
What name you are able to give a newly-discovered animal is now ultimately decided by
the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature.



Red piranha
Serrasalmus nattereri
Statistics
Length: 8-24cm

Physical description
Piranhas' physical characteristics, including colour, vary with location, population, and age. Generally
piranhas are reddish-orange ventrally and silver-grey-green dorsally with a black dorsal fin, black anal
fin, and reddish-orange pectoral fins. The Piranhas deep head has short, powerful jaws with triangular,
interlocking, razor sharp teeth.

Distribution
Piranhas are found in the rivers of South America.

Habitat
Piranhas are typically found in white-water streams.

Diet
Foraging methods vary in the different life stages of Piranhas. During the day, smaller fish typically
search for food whilst at dawn, late afternoon, and early evening the larger fish search for food.
Piranhas have a wide variety of food in their diet, including fins, scales, fish, insects, snails, and plants.

Behaviour
Piranha groups feed communally. Feeding frenzies will be triggered when there is a shortage of food
or blood in the water.

Reproduction
The breeding environments of piranhas tend to be main bodies of water such as lagoons. Piranhas will
change colour during spawning with the red belly getting more intense and the whole piranha
becoming slightly lighter. The pair will defend their spawning territory and prepare a nest not unlike the
breeding behaviour of birds. The female lays clusters of eggs into a bowl shaped nest created in the
sediment. These are around 4 or 5cm in depth and 15cm in diameter. The eggs will then be fertilised
by the male. The eggs hatch after two to three days, depending on the temperature of the water. The
breeders protect both the eggs and their brood. Females are most fertile during the rainy season in
April and May.