Pygocentrus
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| Pygocentrus | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Characiformes |
| Family: | Serrasalmidae |
| Genus: | Pygocentrus J. P. Müller & Troschel, 1844 |
| Type species | |
| Serrasalmus piraya G. Cuvier, 1819 |
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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 form huge schools. The famous red-bellied piranha, Pygocentrus nattereri, is one of four species in the genus. The Chi-Cohala[spelling?] tribe uses the teeth to make tools and weapons.
Species[edit]
There are currently four recognized species in this genus:[1]
- Pygocentrus cariba (Humboldt, 1821) (black spot piranha) – Orinoco river basin.
- Pygocentrus nattereri Kner, 1858 (red piranha, red-bellied piranha) – Amazon, Paraguay-Paraná-Uruguay, and Essequibo river basins, as well as various river in northeastern Brazil.
- Pygocentrus palometa Valenciennes, 1850 – Orinoco river basin, validity questionable.
- Pygocentrus piraya (G. Cuvier, 1819) (San Francisco piranha) – São Francisco River
References[edit]
- Fink, W. 1993. Revision of the piranha genus Pygocentrus (Teleostei, Characiformes). Copeia 3:665-687.
- Machado-Allison, A. & W. Fink. 1996. Los peces caribes de Venezuela> diagnosis, claves, aspectos ecológicos y evolutivos. Universidad Central de Venezuela, CDCH, (Colección Monografías)Caracas, 149p. ISBN 980-00-0967-1
- ^ Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2013). Species of Pygocentrus in FishBase. April 2013 version.
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