“And it shall be that every living thing that moves, wherever the rivers go, will live. There will be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters go there; for they will be healed, and everything will live wherever the river goes” (Ezekiel 47:9 NKJV). God, through the prophet Ezekiel, confirmed that in the creation of the world, He created the rivers of the earth to bring forth many different types of fish. Let’s look at one of these marvels of creation – the water monkey.
The common name water monkey has been given to the silver arowana because it is a very capable jumper. It can leap out of the water in the rivers where it lives to catch insects on plants above the water and even birds that fly low over the river or are perched on low hanging limbs. Other arowana have been caught with bats, mice and snakes in their stomachs, but its normal diet is small fish, insects and other floating or swimming animals. Sometimes the arowana is called the dragon fish. As it reaches its adult size, which can be 2-3 feet, the large armor-like scales reflect red, blue and green colors from lights that shine on it. The dragon fish also has two small barbels or whiskers on its lower lip, giving them a very ancient dragon-like appearance. The barbels allow the arowana essentially to see in total darkness by feeling the water around it. In addition, God also created them with very keen vision to see both above and below the water in search of their prey.
The silver arowana lives in both black and white-water rivers in South American countries. Black-water rivers have wood and leaves floating in them that make the water soft and acidic. A white-water river is pale muddy, milky or coffee-like colors, due to the countryside through which it travels. Both river habitats have unique chemistry, sediments and water colors, but the arowana can live in both types of rivers.
God created the arowana with unique mouth structures. Its mouth is very much like a drawbridge with three mouth parts that open quickly and suck in its prey. Inside of this odd mouth is a bony tongue that appears to be used for holding its prey. The tongue is actually a toothed bone on the floor of the mouth; this tongue has teeth that bite against teeth on the roof of the mouth.
The arowana besides having gills is also an air breather. It can obtain oxygen from air by sucking it into its swim bladder, which is lined with capillaries like lung tissue. This allows it to gulp air and then absorb it into the blood.
The arowana are mouth brooders, taking several hundred eggs into the mouth after fertilization. There, they are held and protected; subsequently, the fry can swim in and out for protection from larger fish. Zoologists consider the arowana to be living fossils, since many fossils have been found of this fish that are indistinguishable from the living fish.
The mighty Creator created a fish with a variety of features that cause men to marvel. Let us always praise God for what He has done.
