piranha
(also ‘pirana’ and ‘caribes’; plural: the same spelling and pronunciation or ‘piranhas; for the right pronunciation of this word,
please click here)
a kind of fish – fresh-water – finned, bony, scaly – diurnal (= active during day) – small with oval-shaped body in different colours – yellow, steel grey, bluish, red or black – with a flat mouth part, like that of a bull-dog, large lower jaw, many razor-sharp teeth, round clear eyes – size: on average, 6 inches to 1 foot long, and weight: 500 grams to 1½ Kg. (some species are as small as 1½ inches long but some individuals grow up to 1½ feet in length and 2 Kg in weight); feeds on (eats) fish, birds, other water animals, and some plant matter; lives for 8-10 years; 35-40 species found only in the Amazon river basin, in South America
sharp teeth of a piranha
Piranhas are notorious as aggressive and dangerous. Their razor-sharp teeth, and the way they attack their prey (= the animals they kill and eat) in schools (groups) and finish the prey in minutes have branded them as ferocious hunters. However, some animal experts believe that they are not actually that dangerous as some people make them to be.
Some studies show that piranhas eat vegetable matter at some stages in their lives!
Some people like to keep piranhas as pets; and some others eat piranhas saying that they taste nice!
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