Got your attention, huh? We have always been fascinated with these fish. The myth that piranha can kill people has fueled more than one science-fiction film or book. Let's find out the truth about piranha, and discover some interesting facts along the way.
Piranha is the singular and plural for this fish. They are also called caribe. One explanation for the name "piranha" comes from the Spanish Guarani word pir-ana meaning "devil fish". A reader to this column has given us another breakdown of the name. This Suite 101 reader had this comment: "Being a Brazilian, and doing some research on my Tupi-Guarani dictionary, I'd like to correct the translation of the name "piranha". It comes from "pira" (fish) + "anha" or "aia" (tooth), and also "pira" (fish) + "ai" (scissors). So, it would be better translated as "tooth-fish" (fish with sharp teeth) or "scissors-fish". The word "devil" in Tupi-Guarani is "anhanga'", as in these words: anhagaba - the devil influence anhanguara - the devil's habitat, or hell. Secondly, the noun "piranha" has a plural --"piranhas"." Thanks to Mrs Rejane Eagleton for giving us deeper insight into the origin of the name. These are fresh water fish mostly found in South America in Amazonia, or rivers of the Amazon. There are more than a dozen species of piranha. What separates piranha from other fish in description are their jaws and teeth. All piranha have teeth, but not all piranha eat meat. Some are only interested in fruits that fall from the trees into the water.
We, of course, are most interested in the piranha that are meat-eaters. The most aggressive of these are the Red-Bellied Piranha. These are the ones that are seen in many public aquariums and zoos. They grow to be about a foot long (12 inches) and are rounder than most fish. They have a greenish tint to the face, gold or silver speckles on the back, a black tail, and spines on the underside. The underside, or "belly", is red or reddish-orange. The fish coloration is quite beautiful, but the face of the piranha is reminiscent of a bulldog. The lower jaw of the fish juts out, exposing sharp, triangular teeth.
These teeth are razor-sharp and can cut flesh from bone in seconds. Red-Bellied Piranha eat animals and fish that live in or have fallen in the rivers of the Amazon. The animals that fall into the river are usually sick or have died(these animals include amphibians, birds, and small mammals). An attack on a mammal is rare, and an attack on a human is rarer still. In order for a Red-Bellied Piranha to attack a person, it would have to be provoked. Wiggling your fingers in a fish tank is a good way to get bit. In the natural water system, though, Red-Bellied Piranha isolate themselves and swim in schools. They are active at night and in darker areas of water. If the water is too cold, they will die. A good water temperature for piranha in general is around 80 degrees F.
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