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The secret relies in combining a highly mineralized outer layer with an internal design that makes their scales quite resistant.

Their scales are so effective that engineers are studying possible modern applications for them. No other species dared to attack them, since their hard but flexible scales protect them, and can´t even be penetrated by piranha’s teeth. Until the appearance of human beings on their habitat, the arapaima was one of the main predators of the Amazon River. The Amazonian people use the huge tongues ​​of the dry piraruru fish, as seed- graters.We invite you to read our article the anatomy of fish, to learn about fish that breath through gills. Only the very young pirarucus have functional gills.

This behavior is mainly due to the low levels of oxygen in the Amazonian rivers, which led the fish that inhabit there and lack adequate lungs, to evolve a special tissue in the swim bladder that processes oxygen.