Although the giant tongue fish is huge, it has little courage. It's easy to get scared, and in the case of being scared, there will be fried scales, that is, the scales of giant bone tongue fish will stand up.

The giant tongue fish is the only species of giant tongue fish, also known as walrus, elephant fish and giant head tongue fish. With the growth of the fish, the outer edge of the scales in the back half of the fish will gradually turn into bright red stripes. But it is not a mammal walrus in the ocean, it is one of the largest scaly freshwater fish in the world.

In the Amazon basin, they usually live in lakes and wide rivers. Because they can grow to 6 meters long, it is difficult to live in a stream. The life span is about 15-20 years, and the body length is generally 3-4 meters. It mainly feeds on small fish, occasionally preys on snakes, turtles, frogs and insects, and even preys on small crocodiles. Some scientists have discovered walrus fish fossils 100 million years ago, so walrus fish are also called "living fossils".

Population status

The catch in the wild has been greatly reduced, and the domestication of this fish is gradually developing in the Amazon basin of Brazil and Colombia to alleviate this.

The giant bone tongue fish is a huge air-breathing fish. In the adult stage, some specimens can reach several hundred kilograms, and sometimes the length is more than 4 meters. This kind of fish is delicious and has no bones, so it has been the object of intensive fishing since the early 18th century. A century ago, the catch of giant tongue fish exceeded 1200 tons per year in just one port in Belem, Brazil.

In 2006, only 380 tons were declared in the whole Amazon basin. It is estimated that the number of individuals in the wild guppy population today is between 50000 and 100000.