The second name for piranhas is "river rippers". These fish have chosen the fresh waters of South America and, according to some ichthyologists, are considered the most dangerous fish living outside the oceans and seas.
Instructions
Step 1
Piranhas are predatory fish with razor-sharp teeth and powerful jaws. A flock of piranhas in a matter of minutes tears to shreds everything that falls into their zone of visibility, leaving a bare skeleton from its prey. These fish are always hungry and attack as soon as the first signs of blood appear.
Step 2
Adult piranhas can reach a length of 35 cm. The body of these fish is elongated upwards, but flattened from the sides. The color of the piranha's body can be different: from silver-blue with dark blotches to dark gray, strewn with shimmering sparkles. The coloration of juveniles is lighter than that of adults. In addition, the tip of the tail of young piranhas is usually bordered with a dark stripe. The anal and pelvic fins of piranhas are usually yellowish or red in color.
Step 3
The special structure of the lower jaw allows these fish to pull out rather large pieces of meat from their prey. The piranha tooth has a triangular shape and reaches a height of up to 5 mm. The teeth of these predators are located so that their upper row fits exactly into the grooves of the teeth of the lower row: this makes it easy to cut off a piece of meat from prey. The cutting part of the piranha's teeth is so sharp that the Indians inhabiting South America generally use these teeth instead of a razor at home.
Step 4
Piranha jaws work in two modes. The first mode allows piranhas to tear off pieces of meat from the victim's body when the jaws are closed, and the second allows you to bite off or gnaw on denser tissues (veins and bones) due to the displacement of the already closed jaws. It is curious that an adult predator may well bite a human finger, pencil or thick fishing nets. For the art of eating prey to have a massive effect, piranhas prefer to hunt in large groups. They hunt everything that moves.
Step 5
The piranha fish community pounces on even large mammals who dare to swim across this or that river. The smell of blood shed by this animal immediately attracts more and more predators to the scene. All this leads to the fact that the mammal simply does not have time to jump out of the water and drowns from a huge loss of blood. Cases of attacks of these fish even on crocodiles were recorded: piranhas bit off parts of their tails. Of course, these predators pose a serious danger to humans as well.
Step 6
In general, birds and mammals that come close to the water or swim across the river are considered the favorite diet of piranhas. Currently, man has bred several species of aquarium piranhas. It is curious that the piranhas in the aquarium are modest and shy fish, from time to time scattering at the sight of a person.
