Salminus maxillosus, a beautiful, agressive and delicious Brazilian fresh-water
fish (found, for example, in the
São Francisco River).
Common individuals present 70 cm of length, weighting 6 Kg. However, there are records of fishes with more than 1.40 m, weighting more than 30 Kg. The Dourado is carnivore and voracious, and spends three quarters of its life hunting smaller fishes, swimming almost 10 km per day.
The name Dourado ("Golden") is obviously derived from the characteristic color of this species.
Since this fish is very important important to the local economies, it is present in many legends of the Brazilian folklore.