Carnivorous Fish - Types, Names and Examples

Author: John Stephens
Date Of Creation: 25 January 2021
Update Date: 26 June 2024
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Fish are animals that are distributed all over the world, even in the most hidden places on the planet we can find some class of them. Are vertebrates that have a multitude of adaptations for aquatic life, whether for salt or fresh waters. Furthermore, there is a huge variety in terms of sizes, shapes, colors, ways of life and food. Focusing on the type of food, fish can be herbivores, omnivores, detritivores and carnivores, the latter being some of the most voracious predators that inhabit aquatic ecosystems.

Would you like to know what the carnivorous fish? In this PeritoAnimal article, we'll tell you everything about them, such as the types, names and examples of carnivorous fish.

Characteristics of carnivorous fish

All groups of fish share general characteristics according to their origin, as they can be fish with radiated fins or fish with fleshy fins. However, in the case of fish that base their diet exclusively on food of animal origin, there are other characteristics that differentiate them, including:


  • have very sharp teeth they use to hold their prey and also to tear their flesh, which is the main characteristic of carnivorous fish. These teeth can be located in one or several rows.
  • use different hunting tactics, so there are species that can lie in wait, camouflaging themselves with the environment, and others that are active hunters and chase their prey until they find them.
  • They can be small, like piranhas, for example, about 15 cm long, or large, like some species of barracudas, which can reach up to 1.8 meters in length.
  • They live in both fresh and marine waters., as well as in the depths, near the surface or on coral reefs.
  • Some species have spines covering part of their body with which they can inject poisonous toxins into their prey.

What do carnivorous fish eat?

This type of fish bases its diet on meat from other fish or other animals, usually smaller than them, although some species are able to consume larger fish or can do so because they hunt and feed in groups. Likewise, they can supplement their diet with another type of food, such as aquatic invertebrates, molluscs or crustaceans.


Hunting techniques for carnivorous fish

As we mentioned, their hunting strategies are diverse, but they are based on two particular behaviors, which are the chase or active hunting, where the species that use them are adapted to reach high speeds that allow them to capture their prey. Many species prefer to feed on large shoals to ensure that they safely catch at least some fish, for example, sardine shoals, which are made up of thousands of individuals.

On the other hand, the technique of lying in wait allows them to save energy that they would otherwise spend chasing prey, allows them to wait often camouflaged with the environment, hidden or even with the use of baits, as some species do. to attract your potential prey. That way, once the target gets close enough, the fish must act fast to get their food. Many species are able to capture much larger and whole fish, as they have protrusive mouths that allow them a wider mouth opening and increase their ability to swallow large prey.


Digestive system of carnivorous fish

Although all fish share many anatomical characteristics with regard to the digestive system, it varies depending on the diet of each species. In the case of carnivorous fish, they usually have a digestive tract shorter than other fish. Unlike herbivorous fish, for example, they have a stomach with the capacity for distension formed by a glandular part, in charge of the secretion of juices, secreting hydrochloric acid, which favors digestion. In turn, the intestine has a length similar to that of the rest of the fish, with a structure that is called a digitiform shape (the so-called pyloric cecum), which allows an increase in the surface of absorption of all nutrients.

Names and examples of carnivorous fish

There is a wide variety of carnivorous fish types. They dwell in all the waters of the world and in all depths. There are some species that we can only find in shallow waters and others that are only seen in shallower places, like some of the species that live in coral reefs or those that inhabit the dark depths of the seas. Below, we'll show you some examples of the most voracious carnivorous fish that live today.

Pirarucu (Arapaima gigas)

This fish of the Arapaimidae family is distributed from Peru to French Guiana, where it inhabits rivers in the Amazon basin. It has the ability to move through areas with a lot of arboreal vegetation and, in dry seasons, to bury itself in the mud. It is a large species, being able to reach the three meters long and up to 200 kg, making it one of the largest freshwater fish, after sturgeon. Due to its ability to bury itself in the mud in times of drought, it can breathe atmospheric oxygen if needed, thanks to its swim bladder being very developed and acting as a lung, which can last for up to 40 minutes.

Discover the most dangerous animals in the Amazon in this other article.

White tuna (thunnus albacares)

This species of the Scombridae family is distributed in tropical and subtropical seas around the world (except the Mediterranean Sea), being a carnivorous fish that inhabits about 100 meters deep in warm waters. It is a species that reaches more than two meters in length and more than 200 kilos, which is being overexploited by gastronomy and for which it is classified as near-threatened species. It has about two rows of tiny sharp teeth with which it hunts fish, molluscs and crustaceans, which it catches and swallows without chewing.

Find out about endangered marine animals in this other article.

Golden (Salminus brasiliensis)

Belonging to the Characidae family, the dorado inhabits the river basins of the South America in areas with fast currents. The largest specimens can reach more than one meter in length and in Argentina it is a species widely used in sport fishing, which is currently controlled, with a ban during the breeding season and respecting minimum sizes. is a carnivorous fish very voracious which has sharp, small, conical teeth with which to peel the skin off its prey, feeding on larger fish and being able to consume crustaceans regularly.

Barracuda (Sphyraena barracuda)

Barracuda is one of the best known carnivorous fish in the world, and no wonder. This fish is found within the Sphyraenidae family and is distributed along the coasts of the oceans. Indian, Pacific and Atlantic. It has a striking torpedo shape and can measure over two meters in length. Due to its voracity, in some places it is commonly called marine tiger and feeds on fish, shrimp, and other cephalopods. It is extremely fast, chasing its prey until it reaches it and then tearing it apart, although curiously it does not consume the remains right away. However, after a while, he returns and swims around the pieces of his prey to consume them whenever he wishes.

Orinoco Piranha (Pygocentrus caribbean)

When thinking about examples of carnivorous fish, it is common for the feared piranhas to come to mind. From the Characidae family, this species of piranha lives in South America in the Orinoco River basin, hence its name. Its length varies between 25 and 30 cm in length. Like other piranhas, this species is extremely aggressive with its potential prey, although if it does not feel threatened it does not represent a danger to the human being, contrary to what is normally believed. Their mouth has small, sharp teeth that they use to break their prey and it is common to feed in groups, which makes them known for their voracity.

Red Belly Piranha (Pygocentrus nattereri)

This is another species of piranha that belongs to the Serrasalmidae family and lives in tropical waters with temperatures around 25°C. It is a species with about 34 cm in length and whose jaw draws attention for its prominent and endowed with sharp teeth. The color of the adult is silvery and the belly is intensely red, hence its name, while the younger ones have black spots that later disappear. Most of its diet is made up of other fish, but it may eventually consume other prey such as worms and insects.

White shark (Carcharodon carcharias)

Another of the world's best known carnivorous fish is the white shark. It is a cartilaginous fish, ie without a bony skeleton, and belongs to the Lamnidae family. It is present in all the world's oceans, both in warm and temperate waters. It has great robustness and, despite its name, the white color is present only on the belly and neck to the tip of the muzzle. It reaches almost 7 meters and females are larger than males. It has a conical and elongated snout, endowed with powerful and serrated teeth with which they capture their prey (mainly aquatic mammals, which can consume carrion) and present throughout the entire jaw. In addition, they have more than one row of teeth, which they replace as they are lost.

Worldwide, it is a species that is threatened and classified as vulnerable, mainly due to sport fishing.

Tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier)

This shark is within the Carcharhinidae family and inhabits the warm waters of all oceans. It is a medium-sized species, reaching about 3 meters in females. It has dark stripes on the sides of the body, which explains the origin of its name, although they decrease with the individual's age. Its color is bluish, allowing it to camouflage perfectly and ambush its prey. It has sharp, serrated teeth at the tip, making it an excellent turtle hunter, as it can break their shells, being generally a night Hunter. Furthermore, it is known as a super predator, being able to attack people and anything it sees floating on the surface of the water.

European Siluro (Silurus glans)

Siluro belongs to the Siluridae family and is distributed in the great rivers of Central Europe, although it has now spread to other regions of Europe and has been introduced in many places. It is a species of large carnivorous fish, which can reach more than three meters in length.

It is known for inhabiting turbid waters and for having nocturnal activity. It feeds on all kinds of prey, even mammals or birds that it finds close to the surface, and although it is a carnivorous species, can also consume carrion, so it can be said that it is an opportunistic species.

other carnivorous fish

The above are just some of the examples of carnivorous fish that have been discovered. Here are a few more:

  • silver arowana (Osteoglossum bicirrhosum)
  • fisherman (Lophius Pescatorius)
  • Beta fish (betta splendens)
  • Grouper (Cephalopholis argus)
  • Blue acara (Andean pulcher)
  • electric catfish (Malapterurus electricus)
  • Largemouth bass (Salmoides micropterus)
  • Bichir from Senegal (Polypterus senegalus)
  • Dwarf falcon fish (Cirrhilichthys falco)
  • scorpion fish (trachinus draco)
  • Swordfish (Xiphias gladius)
  • Salmon (Psalm salar)
  • African tiger fish (Hydrocynus vittatus)
  • Marlin or sailfish (Istiophorus albicans)
  • Lion-fish (Pterois antennata)
  • Puffer fish (dichotomyctere ocellatus)

If you enjoyed meeting many of the carnivorous fish, you may want to learn more about other carnivorous animals. Also, in the video below you can see some of the rarest marine animals in the world:

If you want to read more articles similar to Carnivorous Fish - Types, Names and Examples, we recommend that you enter our Curiosities section of the animal world.