Pygocentrus
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 may form large schools. The famous red-bellied piranha, Pygocentrus nattereri, is one of four species in the genus.[1]
| Pygocentrus | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Characiformes |
| Family: | Serrasalmidae |
| Tribe: | Piranha |
| Genus: | Pygocentrus J. P. Müller & Troschel, 1844 |
| Type species | |
| Serrasalmus piraya G. Cuvier, 1819 | |
Species
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, possibly a nomen dubium.[2]
- Pygocentrus piraya (G. Cuvier, 1819) (San Francisco piranha) – São Francisco River
References
- Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2013). Species of Pygocentrus in FishBase. April 2013 version.
- Reis, R. E., S. O. Kullander and C. J. Ferraris, Jr., editors (2003). Check list of the freshwater fishes of South and Central America. CLOFFSCA. EDIPUCRS, Porto Alegre. 2003: i-xi + 1-729
- 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
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