Colossoma macropomum (Cuvier, 1816)
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum) is a large species of freshwater fish in the family Serrasalmidae. It is native to tropical South America, but kept in aquaculture and introduced elsewhere. It is also known by the names black pacu, black-finned pacu, giant pacu, cachama, gamitana, and sometimes as pacu (a name used for several other related species).
The tambaqui is currently the only member of Colossoma, but the Piaractus species were also included in this genus in the past.
Wikipedia contributors, Tambaqui; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T19:23:19.965924+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Colossoma macropomum (Cuvier, 1816)
- Name authority
- (Cuvier, 1816)
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Teleostei
- Order
- Characiformes
- Family
- Serrasalmidae
- Genus
- Colossoma
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: no · Freshwater: yes · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- gigaclassActinopterygii
- superclassActinopteri
- classTeleostei
- orderCharaciformes
- suborderCharacoidei
- familySerrasalmidae Bleeker, 1859
- subfamilyColossomatinae Kolmann et al., 2021
- genusColossoma Eigenmann & Kennedy, 1903
- speciesColossoma macropomum (Cuvier, 1816)
Close classified relatives
No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Piaractus macropomus (Cuvier, 1816) (Cuvier, 1816) | synonym |
| Myletes nigripinnis Cope, 1878 Cope, 1878 | synonym |
| Myletes oculus Cope, 1872 Cope, 1872 | synonym |
| Myletes macropomus Cuvier, 1816 Cuvier, 1816 | synonym |
| Colosomma macropomum (Cuvier, 1816) (Cuvier, 1816) | synonym |
| Colossoma macropodum (Cuvier, 1816) (Cuvier, 1816) | synonym |
| Melloina tambaqui Amaral Campos, 1946 Amaral Campos, 1946 | synonym |
| Salmo tambaqui Kner, 1860 Kner, 1860 | synonym |
| Colossoma nigripinne (Cope, 1878) (Cope, 1878) | synonym |
| Colossoma oculus (Cope, 1872) (Cope, 1872) | synonym |
| Colossoma tambaqui (Amaral Campos, 1946) (Amaral Campos, 1946) | synonym |
| Colossoma tombaqui (Amaral Campos, 1946) (Amaral Campos, 1946) | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1020122 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:X8BJ. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.