A piranha or piraña, a member of family Serrasalmidae, or a member of the subfamily Serrasalminae within the tetra family, Characidae in order Characiformes, is a freshwater fish that inhabits South American rivers, floodplains, lakes and reservoirs. Piranhas have one of the strongest bites found in bony fishes. This extremely powerful and dangerous bite is generated by large jaw muscles (adductor mandibulae) that are attached closely to the tip of the jaw, conferring the piranha with a mechanical advantage that favors force production over bite speed. According to Ray Owczarzak, assistant curator of fishes at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, it would probably take 300 to 500 piranhas five minutes to strip the flesh off a 180-pound human. Today, piranhas inhabit the freshwaters of South America from the Orinoco River Basin in Venezuela up to the Paraná River in Argentina. Though estimates vary, around 30 species inhabit the lakes and rivers of South America today. In piranhas, neighboring teeth lock together so the teeth literally form a continuous saw-like cutting surface. Piranhas do indeed have sharp teeth, and many are carnivorous. But there's a lot of diet variation among species that's one reason piranhas have proved hard to taxonomically classify. Piranhas are also hard to tell apart in terms of species, diet, coloration, teeth, and even geographic range. Red-bellied piranhas have a lifespan of 10 years or more. In captivity, piranhas can live 10-20 years. They can grow to be a little over a foot long (30.5 centimeters) and weigh up to 4 pounds (1.81 kilograms).

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