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Piranhas will often scavenge, [9] and some species such as Serrasalmus elongatus are specialized scale-eaters, feeding primarily on scales and fins of other fish. [3] Scale- and fin-eating is more widespread among juvenile and sub-adult piranhas. [20] Piranhas lay their eggs in pits dug during the breeding season and swim around to protect them.
This fish is an omnivore, and has aggressive tendencies when hungry, stressed, or seeking live food. Like most in the Serrasalmidae family, piraya piranhas dental morphology has a major influence for their inclination toward piscivorous and herbivorous behavior. [3]
As their name suggests, red-bellied piranhas have a reddish tinge to the belly when fully grown, although juveniles are a silver color with darker spots. The species can reach up to 3.9 kg (8 lb 10 oz) in weight and 50 cm (20 in) in standard length [ 3 ] but rarely surpass 35 cm (14 in). [ 8 ]
If the "piranhas as pets" section were expanded a bit to include a bit more on piranhas as pets it would be important I think to have accurate (in so far as the current knowledge of piranhas nutritional needs allows) information on the feeding of these animals.Yurtle69 22:02, 3 January 2007 (UTC) I corrected this in the article.
A new species of fish has been discovered in the Amazon: a piranha relative with humanlike teeth. The eye-catcher was named after a “Lord of the Rings” villain.
The curve of its large, banana-shaped lower jaw creates a distinctive protuberance; this gave this fish the specific name mento, which means 'chin'. [4] Its reduced, conical teeth on the upper jaw project forward when the jaws are closed. [4] The wimple piranha has 62 chromosomes, which is more than average for related fishes (60 chromosomes). [2]
To emphasize the diversity of diets, authors commonly highlight the fruit- and leaf-eating pacus and the highly carnivorous piranhas. Most in the family other than piranhas are primarily herbivorous. In contrast, piranhas have been long believed to be strict carnivores. [4] Many species change diets depending on age and resource availability. [4]
The black piranha was first formally described in 1766 as Salmo rhombeus with the type locality given as Brokopondo on the Suriname River in Surinam. [2] When Bernard Germain de Lacépède created the genus Serrasalmus in 1803 the only species he placed in it was Salmo rhombeus, so this species is the type species of its genus. [3]