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- Helen Thompson
- Piranhas’ bad reputation is at least partially Teddy Roosevelt’s fault. When Theodore Roosevelt journeyed to South America in 1913, he encountered, among other exotic creatures, several different species of piranha.
- Piranhas have lived in South America for millions of years. Today, piranhas inhabit the freshwaters of South America from the Orinoco River Basin in Venezuela up to the Paraná River in Argentina.
- Piranhas found outside South America are usually pets on the lam. Piranhas attract a certain type of pet lover, and sometimes when the fish gets too large for its aquarium said pet lover decides its much better off in the local lake.
- Piranha teeth are pretty intense but replaceable. Piranhas are known for their razor-sharp teeth and relentless bite. (The word piranha literally translates to “tooth fish” in the Brazilian language Tupí.)
- Piranha Profile
- Interesting Piranha Facts
- Piranha Fact-File Summary
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Known as a ferocious freshwater fish, the Piranhais a small to medium size fish native to lakes and rivers in South America. Some have been found to inhabit warm bodies of water in North America and in the Kaptai Lake in Bangladesh. They are infamous for their razor sharp teeth and extremely powerful jaws.
1. They have razor sharp teeth, with tooth enamel structure similar to that of sharks.
The piranha has a single row of triangular teeth that are razor sharp. They will lose teeth throughout their lifetime and they will be replaced. The way in which their jaws are designed leave piranhas with a very distinct under bite, which means the bottom row of teeth are always exposed.
2. Piranha need warm water to survive.
As opposed to requiring warm blood – thanks to the world of horror movies – piranha can’t live in water that is less than 54-degrees F.
3. Theodore Roosevelt is thought to be somewhat to blame for their reputation.
After traveling to South America in 1913, the locals are said to have put on a show for him, by feeding a dead cow to a large group of hungry piranha. He subsequently wrote about the Piranha in his book ‘Through the Brazilian Wilderness’. He wrote –
Scientific Classification
1. N. Hubert et al (2007). “Phylogeography of the piranha genera”, via US National Library of Medicine. 2. R. Foxx (1972). “Attack preferences of the red-bellied piranha”, via Science Direct. 3. H. Queiroz & A. Magurran (2005). “Safety in numbers? Shoaling behaviour of the Amazonian red-bellied piranha”, via NCBI. 4. S. Millot et al. (2011). “Sound production in red-bellied piranhas (Pygocentrus nattereri, Kner): an acoustical, behavioural and morphofunctional study”, via Journal of Experimen...
Learn about the piranha, a ferocious freshwater fish with razor sharp teeth and powerful jaws. Find out how many species there are, what they eat, how they reproduce, and why they are not as dangerous as Hollywood portrays them.
- Rivers, Lakes, Reservoirs, Floodplains
- Amazon Basin
- 10-20 Years
- 30-80 cm
- They Require Warm Water to Survive. Piranha lives exclusively in the Amazon basin and surrounding lakes. The Amazon according to the United States Geological Service (USGS) is between 70 and 88 degrees Fahrenheit along its 6400 km length.
- Piranha Have Different Colors. Piranhas come in different colors; some are silvery with orange undersides, some have red colors while others are completely black.
- The Number of Piranha Species is Not Certain. Scientists separate ‘true piranhas’ from the herbivorous members of the of the genus. There is only four true piranha genus which includes genus Pygocentrus, genus Piraya, and Natteri.
- The Piranha is a Medium Sized Fish. Although Piranhas are feared to be ferocious predators, they are small to medium sized fish which generally grow to around 30cm.
A piranha or piraña (/ p ɪ ˈ r ɑː n j ə ˌ-r æ n /, or / p ɪ ˈ r ɑː n ə /; Portuguese: [piˈɾɐ̃ɲɐ], Spanish:) is any of a number of freshwater fish species in the family Serrasalmidae, [1] or the subfamily Serrasalminae within the tetra family, Characidae [2] in order Characiformes.
piranha, any of more than 60 species of razor-toothed carnivorous fish of South American rivers and lakes, with a somewhat exaggerated reputation for ferocity. In movies such as Piranha (1978), the piranha has been depicted as a ravenous indiscriminate killer.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Read through our facts about piranhas and then take our piranha quiz to find out! Size - Typical piranhas are, on average, are around 13 to 25cm long, with 10 razor-sharp teeth, usually around 4mm ...
Aug 17, 2021 · Here are 10 piranha facts that may surprise you. 1. Piranha attacks on humans are seldom fatal. Bites usually happen out of the water: Captured piranhas may chomp on fishermen who try to...
