#Red-bellied Piranha

[drafthearse]

Pygocentrus nattereri Kner, 1858, Red-bellied piranha; Karlsruhe Zoo, Karlsruhe, Germany.

[bethanythebogwitch]

Wet Beast Wednesday: red-bellied piranha

For today's Wet Beast Wednesday, I'm discussing probably the most slandered of all bony fish: the red-bellied piranha. Be honest, when you hear piranha what comes to mind? I'd be willing to bet you thought of roving hordes of hyper-predatory fish that devour everything they find in minutes. Well that's not how red-bellied piranhas (or any piranhas for that matter) act. You've been lied to by the media about these fascinating fish. I'm here to correct the record.

(Image: a red-bellied piranha. It is a laterally flattened, round fish with a blunt head and prominent lips. It is a dark gray color with silver flecks and a bright red underbelly. End ID)

The red-bellied piranha (Pygocentrus nattereri) is the most well-known of the piranhas and is the species you think of when you think piranha. They are medium fish, growing to an average of 35 cm (14 in) long and 1.8 kg (4 lbs),maxing out at 50 cm (20 in) and 3.9 kg (8.6 lbs). They have round bodies flatted on the sides and gray to black scales with red underbellies and occasional black spots. Famously, they have large, sharp, interlocking teeth set in strong jaws that are usually covered by thick lips. Piranha lose and replace their teeth throughout their lives.Red-bellied piranhas are often confused with other species of piranha or the closely-related red-bellied pacu, whose juveniles have a similar coloration. As pacu and piranha have similar body shapes, an easy way to tell them apart is the teeth. Piranha have sharp teeth while pacu have blunt teeth.

(image: a close-up of a red-bellied piranha showing the teeth, which are large, triangular, and very sharp. End ID)

With teeth like those it's not surprising that piranhas eat meat. What may surprise you is that they also eat plants. In fact, plants, including seeds and fruits, make up a large portion of their diet. When they do eat meat, they prefer to scavenge or go after small animals like small fish, worms and other invertebrates. They will also opportunistically nip off fins or scales from other fish. This isn't unusual for piranhas. All species eat plants and some are exclusively herbivorous. Red-bellies eat so much carrion that they are comparable to vultures. Both animals help control disease, clean their environments, and recycle nutrients. When Piranha do attack large animals, it is usually in times of hunger or because the animal is injured. Red-bellied piranha do not hunt in packs, but they will rarely engage in feeding frenzies that let them take down animals as large as capybaras. Red-bellies shoal not for hunting, but for protection against their own predators, which include caimen, river dolphins, larger fish, and various birds. Shoals can grow to be hundreds strong. During the wet season, when the rainforests flood, piranha will spread out through the floodlands and primarily browse on vegetation. During the dry season, when their range contracts, the reduced amount of food leads to higher rates of carnivory. Piranha communicate with each other through displays of aggression and drumming sounds produced with the swim bladder.

(Image: a small group of red-bellied piranha. End ID)

Red-bellied piranha mate during the wet season, during which time their red bellies will turn gray. Males will dig shallow nests in sandy bottoms where grass grows and attemptp to woo females with swimming displays. When a female selects a male, the two will swim together in a nuptial display. The female then lays her eggs on the grass for the male to fertilize. The parents will then guard the nest until the eggs hatch after a few days. Larvae and juveniles hide amongst plants until they are large enough to join a shoal. In addition, younger piranha tend to feed during the day while older and larger ones shit to feeding mostly in the morning and evening. Piranha can live for over 10 years.

(Image: a juvenile red-bellied piranha. It has the same body shape as the adult, but its coloration is different. Its body is silver all over with black spots and the anal fin is red. End ID)

Red-bellied Piranha have not been classified by the IUCN, but they are considered abundant in their natural range and have been introduced outside of their range, often as a result of people releasing exotic pets. Several places, including the Philippines, restrict their import to avoid them becoming invasive species. Piranha have become popular as exotic pets, though they have some specific care requirements. Piranha are a common food fish in their native range. Piranha attacks on humans are rare and usually happen when the piranha are hungry or the humans are disturbing them. Few fatal attacks have been recorded and even those numbers may be inflated as bodies that piranha have scavenged may have been mistaken for kills. The reputation of piranha as savage predators has been traced to an expedition to the Amazon by former US president Teddy Roosevelt where he reported a story that some native peoples herded a cow into the water and it was devoured in minutes. It was later found that the natives had used nets to capture and starve the piranha in advance to put on a better show. Roosevelt's report of the incident became very popular and has influenced the popular perception of piranha ever since.

(Image: a piranha feeding frenzy. Multiple piranha are eating a pair of fish, which have been stripped to the bone. End ID)

[cypherdecypher]

Animal of the Day!

Red-bellied Piranha (Pygocentrus nattereri)

(Photo from National Geographic)

Conservation Status- Unlisted

Habitat- Amazon River Basin

Size (Weight/Length)- 1.8 kg; 20 cm

Diet- Fish; Crustaceans; Insects; Algae; Aquatic plants; Fruit; Small mammals

Cool Facts- Most people know how piranhas, especially those of the red-bellied variety, can rip humans apart in seconds. However, fewer people know how that’s a complete myth. Red-bellied piranhas are actually more similar to water vultures, timid and carrion eaters. They form large shoals for protection against predators, such as dolphins and caimans, not hunting. Red-bellied piranhas warn each other of predators by creating a booming noise through their swimbladder, triggering the shoaling behavior. 

Rating- 11/10 (Despite the teeth, there’s nothing to fear.)

[aquatark]

Freshwater Cave - Veiled Sea

Endless Ocean Luminous, Nintendo Switch

my eo2 brain is so used to seeing these creatures in cloudy green water, so seeing them in such blue water is still a little shocking

[fishyfishyfishtimes]

Daily fish fact #322

Red-bellied piranha!

They can communicate through various sounds with each other! They make these sounds by contracting muscles around their swim bladder rapidly. They've been found to make harmonic, low frequency sounds when doing frontal displays or fighting for food, and higher frequency pulses when chasing one specific individual piranha. They can also make a low drumming sound when taken out of water!

[geckenstech]

This is Chad!! He is lovers best friends with Kona and thinks of himself as being quite the ladies’ man. He is an absolute ball of energy!

Kona belongs to my friend, @oxhiblio!

[godzilla-and-aang-monsters]

Andvari

Altura: 130 metros

Longitud: 390 metros

Peso: 95,000 toneladas

Primer Avistamiento: Oslo [Tierra: Teratoverso]

Controles: Tierra Control [Excavación, Reforestacion, Puño de Tierra y Camuflaje] Agua Control [Nado y Secreciones]

Guarida: Urales [Tierra: Teratoverso] Jungla Iridiscente [Avatarverso]

Aspecto: Megalonyx + Piraña de vientre rojo + Cerdo hormiguero

Aliados:

Humanos: Aang, Katara, Soka, Iroh, Zuko

Kaijus y otras bestias: Anguirus, Baragon, Mothra, Rodan, Godzilla

Enemigos:

Humanos: Ozai y Azula

Kaijus y otras bestias: King Ghidorah

[kirstythejetblackgoldfish]

[critter-creature-or-beast]

[clannfearrunt]

godddd let me just spit all this shit out here's a bunch of people Rill knows or what ever. Nykur family plus DLC

Rill's home life is... stressful. It's been hard to shake the feeling that he was adopted as a trophy to show off when convenient, and Rill's probably not completely wrong even if it wasn't intentional on his parents' parts. The only adult Rill even remotely loves and trusts is Nobils but even that is tainted by their financial ties. The Sun's Blood Spills Over Serrasalm is an admirable figure, but they've only met in person once or twice. Rill would love to eventually take their advice and devour this house from the inside out. Eventually.

bonus

[marinememes]

Happy Halloween from me and my Pirate Piranha Skeleton pumpkin

[bubbysneurosiszone]

[marsholirs]

i humbly present you a fish doodle for your better health

[aquatark]

Piranha School - Veiled Sea

Endless Ocean Luminous, Nintendo Switch

i do like how these guys behave more in this game... they're uh. a little dramatic in cortica river lol

[uncharismatic-fauna]

Uncharismatic Fact of the Day

Though they have a bloodthirsty reputation, pirannahs are hardly blood-thirsty. In fact, most of their diet is a combination of crustaceans, insects, small fish, scavenged leftovers, and tiny bites off the scales and fins of larger fish.

(Image: A red bellied piranha ( by Joel Sartore)

If you like what I do, consider leaving a tip or buying me a kofi!

[oharas-demon]

Happy birthday, Luffy! Also happy Mermay, everybody! I drew Luffy as a mermaid based off of Red Bellies Piranhas! Piranhas are fresh water omnivorous fish that inhabit South American rivers, floodplains, lakes, and reservoirs.

👒🍖