Structural and morphological features of Piaractus mesopotamicus (Holmberg, 1887) gills.

Abstract

The pacu Piaractus mesopotamicus (Holmberg, 1887), is a commercially important serrasalmid fish endemic to the Paraná-Paraguay River basin, and one of the most widely cultivated native fish species in the Neotropics. As a migratory species, also inhabiting temporary pools subjected to hypoxic conditions, the species presents a high plasticity concerning respiratory adaptations. In order to supplement basic knowledge on the respiratory physiology and morphology of this species, some structural features of pacu gills, such as filament and lamellae structure, and circulatory pattern are described in this paper.