''Pygocentrus piraya'', often called the piraya piranha or San Francisco piranha, and sometimes sold as the man-eating piranha, is a large, aggressive

piranha A piranha (, or ; ) is any of a number of freshwater fish species in the subfamily Serrasalminae, of the family Serrasalmidae, in the order Characiformes. These fish inhabit South American rivers, floodplains, lakes and reservoirs. Although ...

from the

São Francisco River The São Francisco River (, ) is a large Rivers of Brazil, river in Brazil. With a length of , it is the longest river that runs entirely in Brazilian territory, and the fourth longest in South America and overall in Brazil (after the Amazon R ...

basin in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Description

It is one of the largest piranhas, reaching a maximum length of 50 cm in the wild, and is sometimes considered the most beautiful, with its orange to yellow belly coloration, silver eyes, and rayed fibrous adipose fin. Like most other piranhas, ''P. piraya'' is laterally compressed and roughly circular in profile, and bears a mouthful of very sharp teeth. The lower jaw is thick, strong, and protruding.

Names

It is known by many vernacular names, such as Rio São Francisco piranha, black-tailed piranha, and king emperor piranha, and locally it is simply termed ''piraya''.

Diet

This fish is an

omnivore An omnivore () is an animal that regularly consumes significant quantities of both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize t ...

, and has

aggressive Aggression is behavior aimed at opposing or attacking something or someone. Though often done with the intent to cause harm, some might channel it into creative and practical outlets. It may occur either reactively or without provocation. In h ...

tendencies when hungry, stressed, or seeking live food. Like most in the

Serrasalmidae The Serrasalmidae (serrasalmids) are a family of characiform fishes native to freshwater habitats of South America. They include more than 90 species. The name means "serrated salmon family", which refers to the serrated keel running along the ...

family, piraya piranhas dental

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines *Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts *Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies, ...

has a major influence for their inclination toward

piscivorous A piscivore () is a carnivorous animal that primarily eats fish. Fish were the diet of early tetrapod evolution (via water-bound amphibians during the Devonian period); insectivory came next; then in time, the more terrestrially adapted rept ...

and

herbivorous A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically evolved to feed on plants, especially upon vascular tissues such as foliage, fruits or seeds, as the main component of its diet. These more broadly also encompass animals that eat n ...

behavior. Members of this genus bear one row of sharp, triangular teeth with a strong lower jaw, which enable them to slice and mince prey with ease. This characteristic combined with its large size make it a danger to humans. Piranha attacks on humans are anecdotal for the most part. The piranha mostly prefers to eat small fish and insects, along with seeds and aquatic plant material. The pygocentrus piraya plays a key role in their ecosystem by regulating the population of other fishSANTOS-CLAPP, M. D., DUARTE, R., ALBUQUERQUE, M. C., & BRASIL-SATO, M. C.. (2022). Helminth endoparasites of endemic fish Pygocentrus piraya (Characiformes, Serrasalmidae) from Três Marias reservoir, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Anais Da Academia Brasileira De Ciências, 94(4), e20201425. https://doi.org/10.1590/0001-3765202220201425

In captivity

The piraya is sometimes available as an

aquarium An aquarium (: aquariums or aquaria) is a vivarium of any size having at least one transparent side in which aquatic plants or animals are kept and displayed. fishkeeping, Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, aquati ...

fish. It is not generally bred in captivity, so aquarium pirayas are usually imported from South America and can be expensive. Any other fish sharing a tank with a piraya should be of the same or a similar piranha species. Other types of fish will be attacked and eaten.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1262846 Serrasalmidae Piranhas Fish of the São Francisco River basin Freshwater fish of Brazil Endemic fish of Brazil Fish described in 1819 Taxa named by Georges Cuvier