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Red-bellied piranha

(Pygocentrus nattereri)

 

Category: Fish

 

 

Red-bellied piranhas are omnivorous foragers and scavengers found in the Amazon Basin of South America. Their diet includes insects, worms, plants, crustaceans, and fish – they are not obligate carnivores. They tend to travel in shoals as a means of defense against predators, but rarely engage in group hunting behavior. Red-bellied piranhas are found over a larger geographic area than any other species of piranha and are also popular aquarium fish.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-bellied_piranha

 

Data & Facts

Scientific Classification
Kingdom - Animalia
Phylum - Chordata
Class - Actinopterygii
Order - Characiformes
Family - Serrasalmidae
Genus - Pygocentrus
Species - P. nattereri

 
Did you know?
Interesting Animal Facts

ABC. It’s easy as Protandry

The largest, most aggressive female anemonefish rules the roost - she is the dominant member of the social group, and with one breeding male, the only one who reproduces. In anemonefish society, everybody knows where they stand in the hierarchy! So when she leaves the group, everybody moves up one spot - including the largest, most aggressive male, who undergoes a sex change to become the leader (and breeding female) of the group. While undergoing a sex change might sound drastic to humans, it is actually not all that uncommon in other species. Many do it, either naturally or due to environmental factors: fish, invertebrates, amphibians, some reptiles, even the occasional chicken!

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