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Piranhas
A piranha or piraña (, , or ; or , ) is one of a number of freshwater fish in the family Serrasalmidae, or the subfamily Serrasalminae within the tetra family, Characidae in order Characiformes. These fish inhabit South American rivers, floodplains, lakes and reservoirs. Although often described as extremely predatory and mainly feeding on fish, their dietary habits vary extensively, and they will also take plant material, leading to their classification as omnivorous. Etymology The name originates from the indigenous Tupi people and their respective Tupi language. It is formed from two words, meaning fish and meaning tooth; the same word is used by Indians to describe a pair of scissors. Another possible derivation is from , probably literally "biting-fish". In the mid 18th century the Portuguese merged the word into . Finally, the word may also come from the combination of meaning fish and meaning cut (which also meant "bad" or "devil" in Tupi-Guarani). Taxonomy an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Red-bellied Piranha
The red-bellied piranha, also known as the red piranha (''Pygocentrus nattereri''), is a type of piranha native to South America, found in the Amazon, Paraguay, Paraná and Essequibo basins, as well as coastal rivers of northeastern Brazil.''Pygocentrus nattereri''. Animal Diversity Web. University of Michigan. Accessed 19 February 2016.Froese, R. and D. Pauly, Editors FishBase. 2015. This fish is locally abundant in its freshwater habitat. They are omnivorous foragers and feed on insects, worms, crustaceans, and fish. They are not a migratory species but do travel to seek out conditions conducive to breeding and spawning during periods of increase ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
São Francisco River
The São Francisco River (, ) is a large river in Brazil. With a length of , it is the longest river that runs entirely in Brazilian territory, and the fourth longest in South America and overall in Brazil (after the Amazon, the Paraná and the Madeira). It used to be known as the by the indigenous people before colonisation, and is today also known as . The São Francisco originates in the Canastra mountain range in the central-western part of the state of Minas Gerais. It runs generally north in the states of Minas Gerais and Bahia, behind the coastal range, draining an area of over , before turning east to form the border between Bahia on the right bank and the states of Pernambuco and Alagoas on the left one. After that, it forms the boundary between the states of Alagoas and Sergipe and washes into the Atlantic Ocean. In addition to the five states which the São Francisco directly traverses or borders, its drainage basin also includes tributaries from the state of Goià ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pygopristis
''Pygopristis denticulata'', or the Lobetoothed Piranha is a species of piranha. These fish are part of the group Ostariophysi, a large group of freshwater fish that includes minnows and catfishes. It is a rare South American fish found in the Orinoco River basin, north and eastern Guiana Shield rivers, and tributaries of the lower Amazon River. Piranhas typically live in freshwater, but other specimens can be found elsewhere. Specimens of this species is frequently found in acidic clear or black waters. Piranhas are primarily known for being savage, flesh-eating fish, but they actually have broader diets. They usually feed on aquatic insects, small fish, and fruits.Machado-Allison, A. and W. Fink (1996). ''Los Peces Caribes de Venezuela. Diagnosis, claves, aspectos ecológicos y evolutivos''. Universidad Central de Venezuela, CDCV. (Colección MonografÃas), Caracas, , 149p. ''P. denticulata'' has pentacuspid teeth and a middle cusp A cusp is the most pointed end of a curve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Serrasalmidae
The Serrasalmidae (serrasalmids) are a family of characiform fishes, recently elevated to family status. It includes more than 90 species. The name means "serrated salmon family", which refers to the serrated keel running along the belly of these fish. Fish classified as Serrasalmidae are also known by these common names: pacu, piranha, and silver dollar. These common names generally designate differing dental characteristics and feeding habits. Description Serrasalmids are medium- to large-sized characiform fishes that reach about long, generally characterized by a deep, laterally compressed body with a series of midventral abdominal spines or scutes, and a long dorsal fin (over 16 rays). Most species also possess an anteriorly directed spine just before the dorsal fin extending from a supraneural bone; exceptions include members of the genera ''Colossoma'', ''Piaractus'', and ''Mylossoma''. Most serrasalmids have about 60 chromosomes, ranging from 54 to 62.''Metynnis'' has ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Serrasalminae
The Serrasalmidae (serrasalmids) are a family of characiform fishes, recently elevated to family status. It includes more than 90 species. The name means "serrated salmon family", which refers to the serrated keel running along the belly of these fish. Fish classified as Serrasalmidae are also known by these common names: pacu, piranha, and silver dollar. These common names generally designate differing dental characteristics and feeding habits. Description Serrasalmids are medium- to large-sized characiform fishes that reach about long, generally characterized by a deep, laterally compressed body with a series of midventral abdominal spines or scutes, and a long dorsal fin (over 16 rays). Most species also possess an anteriorly directed spine just before the dorsal fin extending from a supraneural bone; exceptions include members of the genera ''Colossoma'', ''Piaractus'', and ''Mylossoma''. Most serrasalmids have about 60 chromosomes, ranging from 54 to 62.''Metynnis'' has ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Serrasalmus
''Serrasalmus'' is a genus of piranhas. They are collectively known as pirambebas; the "typical" piranhas like the piraya piranha are nowadays placed in ''Pygocentrus''. Like all piranhas, ''Serrasalmus'' are native to South America. These fish are predatory, have sharp teeth and generally have a rhomboid shape. In some, the shape is more ovoid, particularly in old specimens. Some ''Serrasalmus'' species can exceed (''S. manueli'' and ''S. rhombeus'', according to OPEFE), placing them among the largest Serrasalmidae. Species There are at least 31 recognized species in this genus: * ''Serrasalmus altispinis'' Anaïs Merckx, Merckx, Michel Louis Arthur Marie Ange François Jégu, Jégu & Geraldo Mendes dos Santos, dos Santos, 2000 * ''Serrasalmus altuvei'' Manuel Vicente RamÃrez, RamÃrez, 1965 (''caribe pinche'') * ''Serrasalmus auriventris'' (Hermann Burmeister, Burmeister, 1861) * ''Serrasalmus brandtii'' Christian Frederik Lütken, Lütken, 1875 (white piranha) * ''Serrasalmu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Megapiranha
''Megapiranha'' is an extinct serrasalmid characin fish from the Late Miocene (8–10 million years ago) Ituzaingó Formation of Argentina, described in 2009. The type species is ''M. paranensis''.''Megapiranha'' at Fossilworks.org It is thought to have been about in length and in weight. The consists only of e and a zigzag tooth row; the rest of its body is unknown. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fish
Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of living fish species are ray-finned fish, belonging to the class Actinopterygii, with around 99% of those being teleosts. The earliest organisms that can be classified as fish were soft-bodied chordates that first appeared during the Cambrian period. Although they lacked a true spine, they possessed notochords which allowed them to be more agile than their invertebrate counterparts. Fish would continue to evolve through the Paleozoic era, diversifying into a wide variety of forms. Many fish of the Paleozoic developed external armor that protected them from predators. The first fish with jaws appeared in the Silurian period, after which many (such as sharks) became formidable marine predators rather than just the prey of arthropods. Mos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jaw Of The Piranha
The jaw is any opposable articulated structure at the entrance of the mouth, typically used for grasping and manipulating food. The term ''jaws'' is also broadly applied to the whole of the structures constituting the vault of the mouth and serving to open and close it and is part of the body plan of humans and most animals. Arthropods In arthropods, the jaws are chitinous and oppose laterally, and may consist of ''mandibles'' or ''chelicerae''. These jaws are often composed of numerous mouthparts. Their function is fundamentally for food acquisition, conveyance to the mouth, and/or initial processing (''mastication'' or ''chewing''). Many mouthparts and associate structures (such as pedipalps) are modified legs. Vertebrates In most vertebrates, the jaws are bony or cartilaginous and oppose vertically, comprising an ''upper jaw'' and a ''lower jaw''. The vertebrate jaw is derived from the most anterior two pharyngeal arches supporting the gills, and usually bears numerous ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family (taxonomy), family. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial species name for each species within the genus. :E.g. ''Panthera leo'' (lion) and ''Panthera onca'' (jaguar) are two species within the genus ''Panthera''. ''Panthera'' is a genus within the family Felidae. The composition of a genus is determined by taxonomy (biology), taxonomists. The standards for genus classification are not strictly codified, so different authorities often produce different classifications for genera. There are some general practices used, however, including the idea that a newly defined genus should fulfill these three criteria to be descriptively useful: # monophyly – all descendants ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Monophyly
In cladistics for a group of organisms, monophyly is the condition of being a clade—that is, a group of taxa composed only of a common ancestor (or more precisely an ancestral population) and all of its lineal descendants. Monophyletic groups are typically characterised by shared derived characteristics ( synapomorphies), which distinguish organisms in the clade from other organisms. An equivalent term is holophyly. The word "mono-phyly" means "one-tribe" in Greek. Monophyly is contrasted with paraphyly and polyphyly as shown in the second diagram. A ''paraphyletic group'' consists of all of the descendants of a common ancestor minus one or more monophyletic groups. A '' polyphyletic group'' is characterized by convergent features or habits of scientific interest (for example, night-active primates, fruit trees, aquatic insects). The features by which a polyphyletic group is differentiated from others are not inherited from a common ancestor. These definitions have taken ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pristobrycon Striolatus
''Pristobrycon striolatus'' is a species of serrasalmid fish. Range and habitat ''Pristobrycon striolatus'' inhabits mainly black or acidic waters in tributaries in the Orinoco and Amazon River Basins. Description This small and beautiful fish reaches . Its body is discoid with the anterodorsal profile slightly curved or straight. The head is robust and wide. Its snout is blunt. A preanal spine is absent. The adipose fin is wide. The head is silver with metallic orange to red at the mandibular and opercular regions. Its iris is yellow. Its body is greenish laterally and a mixture of orange and red at the abdominal area, covered with "pepper-like" spots. It has a single spot in the opercular area above the pectoral fin origin. Fins have reddish tones. Its caudal fin has an angled basal black band. Machado-Allison and Fink, 1996 Feeding Along with other members of the group, ''P. striolatus'' is a predator, consuming smaller fish and attacking fins. Juveniles eat aquatic in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
