Payara

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Payara

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Characiformes
Family:	Cynodontidae
Genus:	Hydrolycus
Species:	H. scomberoides

Binomial name

Hydrolycus scomberoides
(Cuvier, 1819)

The payara, Hydrolycus scomberoides, (also known as "Dog Tooth Characin" per the Shedd Aquarium, Chicago, IL) is a little known species of gamefish that lives in the Orinoco River in Venezuela. The payara's most noticeable features are the two long fangs portruding from its lower jaw. These fangs can be 4 to 6 inches long, and have earned it the nickname "vampire fish".

Payaras eat most fish smaller than them, but the bulk of their diet is comprised of piranhas, which they impale with their sharp teeth. Payaras share the same habitat with peacock bass. They are also known as cachorras in Venezuela. Payara is restricted to the Rio Amazonas and its tributaries above the mouth of the Rio Tapajós. They can reach at least 650 mm SL.

One of the best places to catch them is Uraima Falls in Venezuela, where almost all record payara have been caught. The largest payara on record weighted 39 lbs. They are very difficult fish to catch, and only about 1 in 5 strikes lands a fish. They nab the lure in the roiling waters of the falls and swim away with great speed and strength, easily dragging out 2,000 feet of line. They often swim with the current of the falls after being hooked, adding to their already formidable strength. They will break 14 lb. test line in the hands of an inexperienced angler.