piracatinga

English

Callophysus macropterus

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

piracatinga (plural piracatinga)

1. (zoology) A species of catfish, Calophysus macropterus, endemic to the the Amazon and Orinoco river basins.

   Synonyms: vulture catfish, zamurito

   • 2012, Annual Report of the International Whaling Commission, International Whaling Commission, page 53,

     This year, it reiterated serious concerns that the population implications of the intentional killing of botos and tucuxis for use as bait in the piracatinga fishery in Brazil.

   • 2017, Vera M. F. da Silva, Anthony R. Martin, Amazon River Dolphin: Inia geoffrensis, article in Bernd Würsig, J. G. M. Thewissen, Kit M. Kovacs (editors), Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals, 3rd Edition, Elsevier (Academic Press), page 23,

     Since the mid-1990s, a directed hunt to provide bait to catch a scavenging catfish called locally piracatinga or mota (Calophysus macropterus) has become the most severe threat to the species.

   • 2020, David Dudgeon, Freshwater Biodiversity, Cambridge University Press, page 105,

     Fishing for piracatinga often involves enclosing an entire decomposing carcass within a submerged corral into which the catfish are lured; the bigger the bait, the larger the catch.

   • 2022, Randall R. Reeves, Chapter 1: Cetacean Conservation and Management Strategies, Giuseppe Notarbartolo di Sciara, Bernd Würsig (editors), Marine Mammals, Springer, page 16,

     […] an exploding regional market for piracatinga (Calophysus macropterus), a scavenging catfish caught in anchored traps baited with, among other things, the flesh and blubber of botos […] .

Translations

Calophysus macropterus

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• Portuguese: piracatinga f