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Pygocentrus nattereri Kner, 1858

Red piranha
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Classification / Names Nombres comunes | Sinónimos | Catalog of Fishes(Género, Especie) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

> Characiformes (Characins) > Serrasalmidae (Piranhas and pacus) > Serrasalminae
Etymology: Pygocentrus: Greek, pyge = rump + Greek, kentron = sting (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Kner.

Issue
Recent observation reveal NMW 16167 dry specimen as possible syntype. See Fink & Zelditch (1997:179) for taxonomic status. See Zbinden (1973) and Sazima and Machado (1990) for details on behaviour.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecología

; agua dulce pelágico; pH range: 5.5 - 7.5; dH range: ? - 20. Subtropical; 23°C - 27°C (Ref. 13371); 9°N - 34°S

Distribución Países | Áreas FAO | Ecosistemas | Ocurrencias, apariciones | Point map | Introducciones | Faunafri

South America: Amazon River basin, Paraguay-Paraná River basin, northeastern Brazilian coastal rivers and Essequibo River basin (Ref. 39031). Reported from the Uruguay River, Brazil (Ref. 79585).

Length at first maturity / Tamaño / Peso / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - 15 cm
Max length : 50.0 cm SL macho / no sexado; (Ref. 81048); peso máximo publicado: 3.9 kg (Ref. 40637)

Short description Claves de identificación | Morfología | Morfometría

Espinas dorsales (total) : 0; Radios blandos dorsales (total) : 16 - 18; Espinas anales: 0; Radios blandos anales: 27 - 30.

Biología     Glosario (por ej. epibenthic)

Common in creeks and interconnected ponds in Matto Grosso, Brazil, where it influences distribution and feeding of other fish (Ref. 9080) and in areas of high primary production in Rio Machado and Rio Negro (Ref.9096). Adults feed mainly at dusk and dawn. Feeds on insects, worms and fish (Ref. 7020). Medium-sized to large individuals (15-24 cm length) forage mainly at dawn, late afternoon and night up to about 2200H, whereas smaller fish (8-11 cm) are active mainly during the day (Ref. 9080). Teeth replacement on alternating sides of jaw allows continuous feeding. Its powerful dentition can inflict serious bites. Has a highly evolved auditory capacity and a 'lurking', then 'dashing' behavior during daytime. Shows hierarchies within small schools (Ref. 9077). Available information on body composition of 'piranha caju' flesh is 8.2% fat, 15.0% protein and 4.4% ash (Ref. 9251).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproducción | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larva

Males and females appear externally alike (Refs. 2279 & 9245). In 'Serrasalmus sp. aff. nattereri', reported to occur in the Orinoco basin (Venezuela, Guyana), the males have more 'bull-like' heads, but are more slender than females (Ref. 1672). Eggs are laid on tree roots trailing in the water and are guarded; the reproductive success may vary strongly from year to year depending on how the savanna was flooded (Ref. 9078). The eggs are large, adhere to plants and are not attacked by the parents. They hatch in 9 to10 days (Ref. 7020).

Main reference Upload your references | Referencias | Coordinador | Colaboradores

Fink, W.L., 1993. Revision of the piranha genus Pygocentrus. Copeia 1993(3):665-687. (Ref. 27142)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)


CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Traumatogenic (Ref. 4537)





Human uses

Pesquerías: escaso valor comercial; Acuario: Comercial
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

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Trophic ecology
componentes alimenticios
Diet compositions
Food consumptions
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Despredadores
Ecology
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Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
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Egg(s)
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Anatomy
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Tipo de natación
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Sonidos de peces
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Estimates based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5625   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.02089 (0.01373 - 0.03180), b=3.16 (3.04 - 3.28), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species & (Sub)family-body (Ref. 93245).
Nivel trófico (Ref. 69278):  3.7   ±0.61 se; based on food items.
Generation time: 1.7 ( na - na) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 1 growth studies.
Resiliencia (Ref. 120179):  Medio, población duplicada en un tiempo mínimo de 1.4-4.4 años (K=0.89; tm=1; Fec=4,000-5,000).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Moderate vulnerability (44 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Unknown.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 59.4 [26.7, 161.3] mg/100g; Iron = 2.16 [1.01, 5.44] mg/100g; Protein = 19.6 [17.4, 22.0] %; Omega3 = 0.665 [0.258, 1.848] g/100g; Selenium = 32.6 [11.5, 81.7] μg/100g; VitaminA = 14.8 [3.9, 59.4] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.783 [0.500, 1.228] mg/100g (wet weight);