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
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Characiformes
Family:	Serrasalmidae
Subfamily:	Serrasalminae
Genus:	Pygocentrus J. P. Müller & Troschel, 1844
Type species
Serrasalmus piraya G. Cuvier, 1819
Synonyms
Rooseveltiella Eigenmann, 1915

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