Piranha : Small package monsters. Everything you need to know about them

Most of the small and medium-sized fishes that we see in our daily life are not that dangerous as they look or some of them look harmless and are actually harmless. Another type of fishes are that they look cute or normal but are quite dangerous. And at last, we have the fourth type of fishes which look dangerous and are dangerous as hell in actual. One of those most dangerous and famous fishes, both by looks as well as deeds are the Piranhas. They look scary and are also capable of ripping the flesh into shreds in no time.

Pygocentrus nattereri (Piranha)

General Info

Piranhas are fresh water fishes which are generally found in tropical rivers and lakes of central and South America.They are common in amazon water bodies (Amazon Basin). According to the research and various fossils studies it is found that piranhas (or earliest flesh eating fishes) came into existence 150 million years ago. The present day piranhas have lifespan of around 10 to 15 years in captivity (artificial environment) and around 25 years in the wild.

They are omnivores but their diet mostly consists of carnivore meals. They are usually found in groups. They can be easily identified with their sharp teeth built inside a small oval mouth and strong lower lifted jaws. It is estimated that their are more than 60 species of piranhas out of which only around 40 species were observed and studied. All these species of piranhas that are discovered until now are all found to be majorly carnivores. They are characterized by their razor sharped teeth therefore to this date, only 4 genus of piranhas are considered as "True Piranhas". These are:

• Pristobrycon
• Serrasalmus
• Pygopristis
• Pygocentrus 

In the present time the total population of piranhas around the planet is still unknown as more species are continued to be discovered.

Physical Characteristics 

Piranhas are medium-sized fishes with a narrow body, blunt head, strong jaws and triangular shaped razor sharped teeth. Their weight can reach up to 3.9 to 4 Kg (~ 8.6 to 8.8 pounds) or sometimes up to 5 Kg (~ 11 pounds) depending on the specie. Most of the species of piranha do not grow more than 1.15 feet (0.35 meters) in length. There are various claims that some piranhas with 2 feet length were observed in areas of San Francisco, California. But the largest confirmed specimen are slightly smaller than what these claims are all about. The largest observed species in piranhas are the "Black Tailed" piranhas which are around 1.64 feet (0.5 meters) in length.

They show variation in body color according to their specie. They are typically Silvery-Orange, greyish- Orange or sometime completely black in color. Also, the piranhas can attain a speed between 15 to 25 mph (~ 24 to 40 Kmph) with the famous "Red bellied piranhas" being the slowest

They have triangular sharp teeth and are capable of generating a great bite force with respect to their body mass. They can produce a bite force of 320 Newton per meter square (~ 0.0464 psi) making them one the hardest biting bony fishes in the world (relative to their size).

Behavior and lifestyle

Piranhas are ruthless and ferocious creatures period, no doubt about that. The intensity of their their dangerous behavior varies from individual species. Although they can be found roaming around lonely but they are mostly found in small groups. Various events occur every year resulting in severe injury or even deaths of various fishermen around lakes and rivers. They are quite famous for ripping the flesh from a body a leaving it with just bones in no time. Among all the the species, "Red bellied piranhas"

 are the most famous and aggressive.

Their diet consists of small fishes, reptiles, birds, mammals seed, fruits, leaves etc. Mostly they eat other fishes and according to a research 75 to 80 % content of their stomach is mainly fish. Since they mainly eat small creatures, one must not underestimate them in terms of insane flesh eating. If a big body of meat is thrown in front of them, they will rip the meat out of the body and finish it no time as already mentioned, they are famous for this stuff.

Reproduction

The male piranhas reaches the age of sexual maturity a few month before the females, which within 9 to 10 months. On the other side, the females reaches sexual maturity at the age of around 11 or 12 months. The mating or breeding season usually starts from march to the end of august. The female piranha lays up to 3000 to 5000 eggs at a time which are laid inside the pits or holes dug during the active breeding season. Or sometimes they lay their eggs near or on water plants where the eggs stick to the leaves of the plant and remain their until they are ready.

The gestation period is about 28 to 42 days (may differ for other species). The male fertilize the eggs and both male and the female remain around the eggs, protecting them until the eggs are hatched. After the eggs are hatched, the young piranhas feed themselves by eating mostly zooplankton and later shift to small fishes as they grow.

Facts and summary

• Piranhas are medium-sized omnivores and live in fresh water mostly.

• They came into existence around 150 million years ago.

• They are very aggressive in nature.

• They deliver a hard bite force (around 320 Newton per meter square), with black piranha having the highest bite force among all the piranhas.

• Piranhas sometime also eat other piranhas.

• They warn other piranhas to not mess with them by making a certain noise similar to barking.

• They are mostly found in groups, not for enforcement or strength but for safety.

• They are easily attracted to blood.

• Former US President Theodore Roosevelt provided a lot of scary information about piranhas through his book "Through the Brazilian wilderness".

• Despite being quite ferocious in nature, both male and female piranhas are really serious and gentle regarding their eggs and offspring.

• Piranhas prefer living in the water which is swiftly moving, having a temperature of 75 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit (23.88 to 29.44 degree Celsius).

• A group of piranhas can easily devour large animals.

• The word "Piranha" means "Fish tooth" (In Portuguese).

🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐟🐠🐠🐠🐠🐠🐠🐡🐡🐡🐡🐡🐡🐡🐟🐟🐟🐟🐠🐠🐠🐠🐠🐠🐠🐠🐠🐡🐡🐡🐡🐡🐡🐡