Red Piranha
Size: 30 cm
Food: fish, fruit, plants
Habitat: flood plains and river margins
Range: South America
The red-bellied piranha is the most dangerous of all piranha species and it also has a reputation of being one of the most ferocious freshwater fish in the world. They are told to attack any prey – no matter what size – and to eat it up alive. The good appetite of piranhas was formerly utilized by the native people of the Amazon: the bodies of the deceased were sunk into the river in order to have them cleaned by the fish and thus to prevent the spreading of diseases.