Piranha
Pygocentrus nattereri
DistributionPiranah Distribution Map
In their natural habitat, Piranhas are found in freshwater "white water" rivers. Piranhas are endemic to South America.
DietPiranhas are omnivores, and eat both meat and vegetation, even though some may think Piranhas only eat meat. Piranhas are famous for their sharp, triangular teeth. Piranha teeth a close together and are almost like a very painful trap to fall into. To eat, Piranhas will tear their meal into tiny pieces. Piranhas have piercing teeth that can cause shocking wounds or even prove to be fatal to large animals. But Piranhas mainly eat small fish, small crustatceans, rodents, lizards, birds, mollusks, insects, shrimps and the dead skin or flesh of dead creatures. Other foods include vegetables, fruit, seeds and certain parts of plants, but only a few Piranhas eat lots of vegetation. Some Piranhas might even eat parts of other fish, such as their fins and scales. Piranhas use their dangerous teeth to tear off parts of their prey, and never chew. As a substitute for chewing, Piranhas swallow food whole, and can therefore eat tremendously quickly. During feeding frenzies, eating quickly helps, because the quicker you eat, the better you eat.
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DescriptionPiranha
Piranhas are freshwater fish that are known to have grown up to 43 centimetres in length. Most Piranha species have raised backs and have usually very narrow body shape. Piranhas have a bulldog face with a ground-level bottom lip. Piranhas have piercing rows of teeth that are very scary. When teeth break off, usually caused by an attack or fight, they are replaced by another tooth. Their keel is made up of outgrown spike-like scales are like a saw. The Family Name for Piranhas, Serrasalmidae, means Saw Salmon. The scales on Piranhas are set into the skin. Over the scales, you are able to feel mucus. Scales are set in either vertical or horizontal patterns. Piranha scales are not different colour, but the cells under the skin make the scales different colours. Paired and Unpaired Fins feature on every Piranha's body. The paired fins are the fins positioned behind the gills, which are called the pectoral fins, and then there are the fins behind the pectoral fins. These fins are called the ventral fins. Unpaired fins include the anal fin, the caudal fin and the dorsal fin. People first found out about Piranahs during the year 1914 when a former president of the United States, Theordore Roosevelt, returned from his voyages in the Amazon, he came back with frightening stories about fish. One of the stories he told starred a soldier in Brazil who had somehow fallen off his horse and into the water, where his flesh was then eaten, and all that was left of him was his skeleton. If this story is true, it is more likely that a soldier drowned and was eating by flesh-eating fish, including Piranhas. Pirahnas are active daily, making them diurnal.
Find out about Fins and Fish Anatomy! Click here!!! |
LifeWhen mating season occurs, which is around April, May and sometimes in late summers, Piranhas will change colours, and will be darker colours. When two Piranhas mate, they find a spot to lay thousands of minute eggs that tend to be orange. After up to three days, the eggs hatch and their parents become aggressive guardians of their hatchlings. The babies are born carnivores and will feast on small crustaceans. Sometimes, they might even eat seeds, fruits and water plants.
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Threats and DangersEven though Piranhas are not endangered, it is our responsibility, as humans, to look after Piranhas and other species of fish. Habitat destruction and pollution of lakes is just a small step into whiping out a huge group of animals. As well as all this, Piranhas are eaten, turned into useable equiptment, caught for market and trade, and if they interfere with fishing, they might be killed by irritated fishermen.
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DefencesPiranhas are born with extremely sharp teeth, and must be handled with care, as they have a painful reputation and if you get off on the wrong fin, they will not hesitate to defend themselves!!!
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