''Serrasalmus'' is a genus of

piranha 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, ...

s. They are collectively known as pirambebas; the "typical" piranhas like the piraya piranha are nowadays placed in ''

Pygocentrus ''Pygocentrus'' is a genus of the piranha family Serrasalmidae. All species are native to tropical and subtropical South America. All the species are predatory, scavengers and may form large schools. The famous red-bellied piranha, ''Pygocentrus ...

''. Like all piranhas, ''Serrasalmus'' are native to South America. These fish are predatory, have sharp teeth and generally have a

rhomboid Traditionally, in two-dimensional geometry, a rhomboid is a parallelogram in which adjacent sides are of unequal lengths and angles are non-right angled. A parallelogram with sides of equal length (equilateral) is a rhombus but not a rhomboid. ...

shape. In some, the shape is more

ovoid An oval () is a closed curve in a plane which resembles the outline of an egg. The term is not very specific, but in some areas (projective geometry, technical drawing, etc.) it is given a more precise definition, which may include either one or ...

, particularly in old specimens. Some ''Serrasalmus''

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

can exceed (''S. manueli'' and ''S. rhombeus'', according to OPEFE), placing them among the largest

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 ...

Species

There are at least 31 recognized species in this genus: * ''

Serrasalmus altispinis ''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 ...

'' Merckx, Jégu & dos Santos, 2000 * ''

Serrasalmus altuvei ''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 ...

'' Ramírez, 1965 (''caribe pinche'') * ''

Serrasalmus auriventris ''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 ...

'' ( Burmeister, 1861) * ''

Serrasalmus brandtii ''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 ...

'' Lütken, 1875 (white piranha) * ''

Serrasalmus compressus ''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 ...

'' Jégu, Leão & dos Santos, 1991 * ''

Serrasalmus eigenmanni ''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 ...

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

, 1929 * ''

Serrasalmus elongatus ''Serrasalmus elongatus'' is a slender and elongated shaped piranha from the '' S. humeralis'' group. It is commonly known as elongated piranha or pike piranha in reference to its shape. In its native range it is one of the smaller piranha speci ...

'' Kner, 1858 (slender piranha, ''caribe pinche'') * ''

Serrasalmus emarginatus ''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 ...

'' (

Jardine Jardine is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Al Jardine (born 1942), member of the Beach Boys * Alexander Jardine (Medal of Honor) (1874–1949), American Medal of Honor recipient * Antonio Jardine (born 1988), NCAA college bas ...

, 1841) * ''

Serrasalmus geryi ''Serrasalmus geryi'', the violet line piranha or Gery's piranha, is a species of fish found in the lower Tocantins and Araguaia Rivers of Brazil. This rare ''Serrasalmus'' is the one piranha of the genus ''Serrasalmus'' that can coexist with o ...

'' Jégu & dos Santos, 1988 (violet line piranha) * ''

Serrasalmus gibbus ''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 ...

'' Castelnau, 1855 * ''

Serrasalmus gouldingi ''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 ...

'' W. L. Fink & Machado-Allison, 1992 (blue tiger piranha) * '' Serrasalmus hastatus'' W. L. Fink & Machado-Allison, 2001 * '' Serrasalmus hollandi'' ( C. H. Eigenmann, 1915) * '' Serrasalmus humeralis''

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a s ...

, 1850 (pirambeba) * '' Serrasalmus irritans'' ( W. K. H. Peters, 1877) (Iridescent piranha，''"caribe pinche"'') * '' Serrasalmus maculatus'' Kner, 1858 (spotted piranha) * ''

Serrasalmus manueli ''Serrasalmus manueli'', or the ''Silver piranha'' or Manuel's piranha, is one of the largest species of piranha within the genus ''Serrasalmus''. Its size and weight are still yet to be determined but it is safe to say that it reaches around th ...

'' ( Fernández-Yépez & Ramírez, 1967) (green tiger piranha, ''caribe parguasero'') * '' Serrasalmus marginatus''

, 1837 * '' Serrasalmus medinai'' Ramírez, 1965 (red-throated piranha) * '' Serrasalmus nalseni'' Fernández-Yépez, 1969 (''caribe pintado'') * '' Serrasalmus neveriensis'' Machado-Allison, W. L. Fink, López Rojas & Rodenas, 1993 * ''

Serrasalmus nigricans ''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 ...

'' (

Spix Johann Baptist Ritter von Spix (9 February 1781 – 13 March 1826) was a German biologist. From his expedition to Brazil, he brought to Germany a large variety of specimens of plants, insects, mammals, birds, amphibians and fish. They constitute ...

Agassiz Jean Louis Rodolphe Agassiz ( ; ) FRS (For) FRSE (May 28, 1807 – December 14, 1873) was a Swiss-born American biologist and geologist who is recognized as a scholar of Earth's natural history. Spending his early life in Switzerland, he rec ...

, 1829) * '' Serrasalmus nigricauda'' ( Burmeister, 1861) * '' Serrasalmus odyssei''

Hubert Hubert is a Germanic masculine given name, from ''hug'' "mind" and ''beraht'' "bright". It also occurs as a surname. Saint Hubertus or Hubert (c. 656 – 30 May 727) is the patron saint of hunters, mathematicians, opticians, and metalworkers. ...

& Renno, 2010 * '' Serrasalmus rhombeus'' (

Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

, 1766) (redeye piranha, ''caribe amarillo'') * '' Serrasalmus sanchezi''

Géry Géry () is a commune in the Meuse department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. See also *Communes of the Meuse department The following is a list of the 499 communes of the Meuse department of France. The communes cooperate in the follo ...

, 1964 (sharp-snouted piranha) * '' Serrasalmus scotopterus'' (

, 1841) * ''

Serrasalmus serrulatus ''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 ...

'' (

, 1850) (''caribe cortador'') * '' Serrasalmus spilopleura'' Kner, 1858 (speckled piranha) * '' Serrasalmus stagnatilis'' (

, 1841) * '' Serrasalmus undulatus'' (

, 1841)

References

* * * OPEFE Serrasalmidae Piranhas Fish of South America {{Characiformes-stub