African Arowana

Fascinating facts about the African Arowana

• It can launch itself 2 metres out of the water — high enough to snatch birds and insects mid-flight from overhanging branches. The African arowana's lower jaw is hinged like a trap door, and it attacks with its mouth already open, timing the strike to a fraction of a second. This makes it one of the few freshwater fish that hunts above the waterline.
• Its scales are lined with sensory organs called neuromasts that detect vibrations in the water from up to 3 metres away — letting it hunt in murky rivers where visibility is just a few centimetres. This lateral line system works like a living sonar, so the arowana can hunt successfully in water so dark that light never reaches the bottom.
• The African arowana is a mouthbrooder: after spawning, one parent (usually the female) keeps the eggs and newly hatched fry inside her mouth for weeks, only releasing them to feed at night. This behaviour costs her dearly — she loses weight rapidly and cannot eat during this time, surviving on energy reserves alone.
• Ancient peoples in West Africa considered the arowana a symbol of water spirits and success, naming it after the Arabic word for 'fast mover' — a name that travelled back to Asia where the species became one of the most coveted aquarium fish in the world. In Singapore, a single golden arowana can sell for over £40,000, making it more valuable per kilogram than gold.
• Unlike most fish, the arowana has paired air ducts that let it gulp air from the surface, turning its swim bladder into a primitive lung. In seasonal floodplains that dry out for months, this adaptation lets it survive in waters so oxygen-starved that other fish suffocate — and even cross land in search of deeper pools, using its powerful pectoral fins to propel itself forward.

At a glance

About the African Arowana

In the murky, sun-dappled waters of the African wetlands, the African Arowana glides with a silent, serpentine elegance, its long, slender body undulating as it navigates the tangled vegetation with precision. With eyes that seem to hold a perpetual, piercing intensity, this ancient predator patrols its domain, a master of stealth and ambush, striking with lightning speed to snatch unsuspecting prey from the shadows. As it breaks the surface, its scales shimmer with a fleeting, iridescent glow, a brief, dazzling glimpse into the secret world of this enigmatic, primordial fish.

Discover more wildlife