Marine Creature of the Month Feb'20
Marine Creature of the Month Famous Fish Piranha 3D (2010). Photo from Syfy Red Bellied Piranha: Piranha Ok, so not technically "marine" but these Amazonian toothy delights are iconic, don't you agree? Kingdom: Animalia Class: Actinopterygii Conservation Status: Not Evaluated (NE) WHAT ARE THEY? To put it bluntly, they are a fish. A freshwater fish with a laterally compressed body. They grow up to 50cm (20in) in length, but the average is closer to 35cm (14in). As the name would suggest, the adults sport a lovely red tinged belly. As juveniles, they are grey with dark spots which develop into a more silvery colour as they mature. Like with a lot of fish, they show sexual dimorphism - the ladies have redder bellies than the men. Their fins are black or red to orange across both genders. Of course, when we think of piranhas we think of lots of razor sharp teeth! (And that it's a difficult word to spell!) They do have a mouthful of teet...