“It has been calculated that the Amazon contains about 2,000 species of fish, many more than any other river system on earth,” claims the Portuguese edition of the book Vida Selvagem nos Rios (Wildlife Habitat). After his expedition to the Amazon region, the famous oceanographer Jacques-Yves Cousteau went so far as to say that ‘there are more species of fish in the Amazon than in the Atlantic Ocean.’

In addition, there is the pirarucu, a freshwater giant that is known as the Brazilian cod. On average, it is over six feet [2 m] in length and weighs about 150 pounds [70 kg].