Pygocentrus cariba

Pygocentrus cariba, or black spot piranha, is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Serrasalmidae, which includes the pacus, piranhas and related fishes. The blackspot piranha is restricted to Venezuela and Colombia; specifically, to the Orinoco River basin lowlands and the Llanos region. This species can reach a total length of 27.9 centimetres (11.0 in). It is popular as a game fish.^[3]

Pygocentrus cariba
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Characiformes
Family:	Serrasalmidae
Genus:	Pygocentrus
Species:	P. cariba
Binomial name
Pygocentrus cariba (Humboldt, 1821)
Synonyms[2]
Serrasalmo cariba Humboldt, 1821 Serrasalmus caribe, Valenciennes, 1850 Serrasalmo (Pygocentrus) notatus Lütken, 1875 Pygocentrus notatus (Lütken, 1875) Pygocentrus stigmaterythraeus Fowler, 1911

They are a carnivorous species, that feed on a wide variety of fish, carrion, invertebrates, and other aquatic animals.^[1]

Pygocentrus cariba bellongs to the genus Pygocentrus, this name being a combination of pygo-, derived from the Greek word pygos, which means "rump", and centrus, derived from kentron, which means prickle. This refers to the serrated abdomen of these fishes. The specific name, cariba, is a local Venezuelan equivalent of the Brazilian word piranha.^[4]