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During the final phase of the Hellems Building reconstruction project, the CU Museum will be closed for reorganization. We will reopen on the first day of Spring Semester, January 8, 2026. Special access requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Please email cumuseum@colorado.edu for more information.

Pike characin

Pike characins,ٰǰԳܲDZ辱,areone of many characid species also referred toasfreshwater barracudas. This specimenwas collected by Max M. Ellisin 1910while he ledanexploration into the regions of the headwaters of the AmazonRiverunder the financing of Indiana philanthropist Jake Gimbel. The Gimbel Expedition resulted in many important freshwater fish discoveries and followed along the brackishDemeraraRiver in Guyana as well of some of its inland tributaries, such asHubabuCreek. This particular specimen was

pike characin
collected near Gluck Island, nearly one hundred miles from the northern coast of Guyana, opposite Rockstone. A search for freshwater eels was the driving force behind the expedition, and Ellis’ resulting 88-page monograph onThe Gymnotid Eels of Tropical America corroborated the existence of the previously held myth of the “electric fish.”Therefore, this characidspecimen represents a uniquenon-targetspeciescollected on theGimbel Expedition.

The pike characin belongs to the “needle jaw”Acestrorhynchidaefamily. Its elongated body canreach up to 15 inchesin length and ispunctuated by a dark blotch at the base of the caudal (tail) fin.The pikecharcin’snative range is theOrinoco and Amazon Riversof South America, thoughnow it is also acommercially available aquarium species.This speciesis an obligate piscivore, feeding strictly ona diet of fishwith its sharply pointedcone-shapedteeth, capable of easily crushing bone.

UCM 170ٰǰԳܲDZ辱
Collect Date:1910
Locality:Guyana, UpperDemerara-Berbice, Gluck Island
Collector:Max Mapes Ellis