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piranha
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A person holds a piranha from the Napo River in Ecuador, showing its sharp, triangular teeth and red-orange lower jaw as they remove a fishing hook from its mouth. red-bellied piranha
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A person holds a piranha from the Napo River in Ecuador, showing its sharp, triangular teeth and red-orange lower jaw as they remove a fishing hook from its mouth.
Piranha from the Napo River in Ecuador

piranha

fish
Also known as: caribe, piraya
Written and fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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piranha, any of more than 60 species of razor-toothed carnivorous fish of South American rivers and lakes, with a somewhat exaggerated reputation for ferocity. In movies such as Piranha (1978), the piranha has been depicted as a ravenous indiscriminate killer. Most species, however, are scavengers or feed on plant material. Most species of piranha never grow larger than 60 cm (2 feet) long. Colours vary from silvery with orange undersides to almost completely black. These...

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