Articulated Arapaima

According to Uaiás mythology, Pirarucu was the son of a local chief. He was cruel and arrogant warrior who was disrespectful to the gods. As punishment, the highest of the gods, Tupan, dragged him to the bottom of the river and transformed him into the first arapaima.

Arapaima gigas (also called pirarucu) is one of the largest freshwater fish in the world, reaching over 10 ft in length and weighing 220 lbs. These ancient armored fish are native to the Amazon and Essequibo River basins, but have been introduced in other tropical regions around the world. They possess a labyrinth lung (like the Northern Snakehead) allowing them to gulp air and survive in poorly oxygenated waters. They also possess scales composed of a hard mineralized outer layer on top of multiple tough layers of collagen to protect them from predators. Despite these adaptations, their numbers have been declining in their native range due to overfishing. Today, individuals longer than 6 ft are rare in the wild.

The species gained more public attention when it was featured on an episode of River Monsters. Angler Jeremy Wade journeyed deep into the Amazon rainforest, racing against the looming monsoon season to find and catch an absolute monster of a fish.

I was lucky enough to hook an arapaima just once but it was the fight of a lifetime. For 16 minutes all I could do was hold on as it took back what little line I was able to pull in, at no point was I in control of that fish. Then in an instant it launched half it's body above the water, shook it's head, and spat the hook. It was such a memorable experience that inspired to design this model. 

Assembly is the same as my other articulated fish models, push the registration pin into place, add glue to the flat piece bottoms, push the two halves together, and secure with tape. For this one though, I highly recommend adding glue to all perimeter scales, not just the head and tailfin.

Happy printing!