Piranha fish is best known for their sharp tooth and extreme carnivore nature.

    • Scientific Classification– Class: Actinopterygii, Order: Characiformes, Family: Characidae, Subfamily: Serrasalminae, Tribe: Piranha..
      Pristobrycon, Pygocentrus, Pygopristis and Serrasalmus are considered true Piranhas.
    • Life span is- 10 yrs in average may be upto 20 years
    • Length 6-9 inches but some times may reach upto 14-16 inches.
    • Piranha name came from Tupi Indian language( native language in Brazil) combination of pira(“fish,”)and ranha(“tooth.”).
    • Their habitant is freshwater river in South America ( Amazon basin)
    • Types–Red Piranhas(Serrasalmus Nattereri),Black Piranha(Serrasalmus Niger) White Piranha (Serrasalmus Rhombeus )
    • Food- Fish, Insects, Snails. Plants ( Yes piranha are Omnivore that means they eat both meat and plant)
    • Though everybody feared for its sharp tooth but Piranhas are preyed by many predators in river such as crocodiles, dolphins, birds and even larger fish.
    • Piranhas breed in slower water during the rainy season May. Couple Piranha prepare a area where female lays egg ( 5000 eggs in average) and more than 90% egg able to hatch after 2-3 days as the couple defend this area effectively .
    • Gestation Period: 4-6 weeks
    • Age of Sexual Maturity: 18-24 months
    • They live in a group which is called “School”

American President Theodore Roosevelt visited Brazil and Brazilian fishermen wanted to show him a surprise .
They blocked a part of Amazon tributary with nets and gathered School of piranhas and made them starved for few days..
When President visited , they tossed the cow in river and in a few minutes, piranhas ate all the meat of cows and only skeleton left.
President Roosevelt wrote in his book Through the Brazilian Wilderness about this experience

They are the most ferocious fish in the world. Even the most formidable fish, the sharks or the barracudas, usually attack things smaller than themselves. But the piranhas habitually attack things much larger than themselves. They will snap a finger off a hand incautiously trailed in the water; they mutilate swimmers—in every river town in Paraguay there are men who have been thus mutilated; they will rend and devour alive any wounded man or beast; for blood in the water excites them to madness. They will tear wounded wild fowl to pieces; and bite off the tails of big fish as they grow exhausted when fighting after being hooked.

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