Can piranhas actually kill a human?
F THE MOVIES ARE TO BE BELIEVED, you only have to dip a toe into anseveral species of South American freshwater fish belonging to the Serrasalmid family. As a rule, they are opportunistic omnivores rather than specialist carnivores – meat, carrion, vegetation, nuts, fruit and seeds are all on the menu. With razor-sharp teeth and the strongest bite-force recorded for any fish, their fearsome reputation is not entirely undeserved. Some species are quite capable of taking a chunk out of a person or snipping off a finger or toe. The vast majority of attacks, though, involve just a single bite, and they seem to be more likely when swimmers disturb the fish’s nest on the riverbed.
