#piranha

[goryhorroor]

horror sub-genres: animal

[humanoidhistory]

Japanese poster for Piranha (1978)

[feather-bone]

[ID: a digital illustration of a green fish with dorsal black stripes and a red belly. It’s teeth are sharp and it is surrounded by simple green leaves on a light green background. End.]

Red-bellied piranha, a sharp little tetra from South America! They hang out in large schools for defense. They are omnivorous, but most seem to primarily consume fish, small vertebrates, bugs, and crustaceans.

[croxot]

Skipping the lineart and just coloring my sketches a lot recently. Anyway here's Cassidy.

[onscreenfishes]

Saw VI (2009)

[redhairedfish]

it would be the most dangerous animal on the planet

[idoodle2draw-marquer]

my side of an art trade with my besties @astronumbers and t where we drew about our Salmon Run inside jokes 🐟💥

I HAD SO MUCH FUN WITH THIS LMAO

here's their sides of the trade :D LOOK AT 'EM !!!!!!!!!!!✨✨

the point of the art trade was that we all drew these without showing any progress or telling what ours were about- and to send them all to each other finished, like a surprise!

hilariously, we all had the same idea of making Piranha being silly and nomming on an egg HEHE 🤍

[retrocgads]

UK 1987

[itsaaudraw]

whatever. piranha wojack

[marinememes]

Happy Halloween from me and my Pirate Piranha Skeleton pumpkin

[briarrosefromthedead]

Piranha 3D (2010) dir. Alexandre Aja

[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)

[fanofspooky]

Scream King - Ving Rhames

[i-was-today-years-old-when]

i learned if piranhas really are that dangerous

Piranhas are often portrayed as vicious predators that attack humans and other animals in large groups or feeding frenzies.

This image is largely exaggerated by sensational media, movies and folklore.

In reality, piranhas are mostly scavengers that feed on dead or injured animals, and rarely attack healthy prey.

They are also preyed upon by larger fish, birds, reptiles and mammals.

You see, Piranhas are freshwater fish that belong to the subfamily Serrasalminae, which includes about 60 species.

They are native to South America, where they inhabit rivers, lakes, and flooded forests.

They have a reputation for being aggressive and carnivorous, but in reality, they have a varied diet that includes plants, seeds, insects, worms, crustaceans, and other fish. Some species are also scavengers that feed on dead animals or carcasses.

Piranhas have a distinctive feature that makes them stand out from other fish: their teeth.

Piranhas have sharp, triangular teeth that are arranged in a single row on each jaw.

They can bite with a force of up to 30 times their body weight, and can easily cut through flesh and bone.

Their teeth are constantly replaced throughout their lives, ensuring that they always have a fresh set of weapons.

But does this mean that piranhas are dangerous to humans?

The answer is: it depends. Piranhas are not mindless killers that attack anything that moves.

They are actually quite timid and wary of predators, and usually swim in schools for protection.

They only attack when they feel threatened or hungry, or when they sense blood or vibrations in the water.

Most piranha attacks on humans occur during the dry season, when food is scarce and water levels are low.

This man is insane

This creates a situation where piranhas are crowded together in small pools or channels, and become more aggressive and competitive for resources. Humans who enter these waters, either accidentally or intentionally, may provoke a feeding frenzy or a defensive reaction from the piranhas.

However, even in these cases, piranha attacks are rarely fatal. Most victims suffer only minor injuries, such as cuts or bites on their feet or hands.

Some may lose a finger or toe, but this is uncommon.

There have been very few documented cases of human deaths caused by piranhas, and most of them involved children, elderly people, or people who were already wounded or sick.

So, are piranhas really that dangerous?

The answer is: not as much as you might think.

Piranhas are fascinating and misunderstood creatures that have adapted to their environment and survival needs.

[croxot]

"This one's a bit small."

Cassidy.

[marril96]

Criminal Minds 17.07 | Piranha