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The piranha is found mainly in the Amazon basin. Its habitat range includes the Orinoco River basin in Venezuela, all the way to the Paraná River in Argentina. There are around 30 species of piranha that inhabit the lakes and rivers in South America.

Piranhas have been indigenous to South America for millions of years, but the piranha we see today has only been around for about 1.8 million years, as opposed to the more “prehistoric” piranha that’s as old as 9 million years.

THEIR BITE IS WORSE THAN THEIR BARK
Scientists in Belgium have discovered that the Red-Bellied Piranha, a more common species, actually produces at least three distinct sounds to communicate their “feelings” when annoyed or angered – these piranha “bark” before biting, make a drum-like beat when fighting for food, and emit a soft “croaking” sound when snapping at other piranhas.

How they make these sounds is by using muscles attached to their swim bladders, although a report by National Geographic suggests they also “gnash their teeth” to make one of the sounds. Unfortunately, these sounds aren’t clearly audible to the unassisted human ear, so you may not pick up on their warning.

As for their bite, piranhas have one of the most powerful bites among bony fishes. A member of their species, the Black Piranha, has a bite-force of about 72 pounds per square inch owing to its powerful jaw muscles. Fortunately, the Black Piranha is quite solitary and is not known to attack humans.

The Red-Bellied Piranhas are the more common culprits, and their bite force is almost as strong as the Black Piranha. Like sharks, the piranha’s teeth are serrated and have a similar enamel structure, making them well-suited for its meat diet.

But unlike sharks, piranhas have only a single row of teeth in each of their jaws as opposed to the three or four rows of serrated chompers on sharks, and they replace their worn-out teeth in quarters, not individually like sharks.

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