Red-Bellied Piranha

A **piranha** or **piraña** is a member of family Characidae in order Characiformes, an omnivorous freshwater fish that inhabits South American rivers. In Venezuela, they are called ***caribes***. They are known for their sharp teeth and powerful jaws.

## Distribution

Piranhas are indigenous to the Amazon basin, in the Orinoco, in rivers of the Guianas, in the Paraguay-Paraná, and the São Francisco River systems. Aquarium piranhas have been unsuccessfully introduced into parts of the United States. In many cases, however, reported captures of piranhas are misidentifications of pacu (e.g., red-bellied pacu *Piaractus brachypomus* is frequently misidentified as red-bellied piranha *Pygocentrus nattereri*). Piranhas have also been discovered in the Kaptai Lake in southeast Bangladesh. Research is being carried out to establish how piranhas have moved to such distant corners of the world from their original habitat. Some rogue exotic fish traders are thought to have released them in the lake to avoid being caught by antipoaching forces. Piranhas were also spotted in the Lijiang River in China.

## Description

### **Size**

Piranhas are normally about 14 to 26 cm (5.5 to 10.2 in) long, although some specimens have been reported to be up to 43 cm (17 in) in length.

### **Morphology**

*Serrasalmus*, *Pristobrycon*, *Pygocentrus*, and *Pygopristis* are most easily recognized by their unique dentition. All piranhas have a single row of sharp teeth in both jaws; the teeth are tightly packed and interlocking (via small cusps) and are used for rapid puncture and shearing. Individual teeth are typically broadly triangular, pointed, and blade-like (flat in profile). The variation in the number of cusps is minor; in most species, the teeth are tricuspid with a larger middle cusp which makes the individual teeth appear markedly triangular. The exception is *Pygopristis*, which has pentacuspid teeth and a middle cusp usually only slightly larger than the other cusps.

### **Biting Abilities**

Piranhas have one of the strongest bites found in bony fishes. Relative to body mass, the black piranha (*Serrasalmus rhombeus*) produces one of the most forceful bites measured in vertebrates. This extremely powerful bite is generated by large jaw muscles (adductor mandibulae) that are attached closely to the tip of the jaw, conferring the piranha with a mechanical advantage that favors force production over bite speed. Strong jaws combined with finely serrated teeth make them adept at tearing flesh.

## Ecology

Piranhas have a reputation as ferocious predators that hunt their prey in schools. Recent research, however, which "started off with the premise that they school as a means of cooperative hunting", discovered they are timid fish that schooled for protection from their own predators, such as cormorants, caimans, and dolphins. Piranhas are "basically like regular fish with large teeth".

Research on the species *Serrasalmus* aff. *brandtii* and *Pygocentrus nattereri* in Viana Lake, which is formed during the wet season when the Rio Pindare (a tributary of the Rio Mearim) floods, has shown that these species eat vegetable matter at some stages in their lives; they are not strictly carnivorous fish. Piranhas lay their eggs in pits dug during the breeding and swim around to protect them. Newly hatched young feed on zooplankton, and eventually move on to small fish once large enough.

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