Serrasalmus

Serrasalmus
Temporal range:
S. rhombeus at Carauari, Brazil
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Characiformes
Family: Serrasalmidae
Subfamily: Serrasalminae
Genus: Serrasalmus
Lacepède, 1803
Type species
Salmo rhombeus
Linnaeus, 1766[1]
Species

See text

Synonyms[1]

Serrasalmus is a genus of freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Serrasalmidae, which includes the pacus, piranhas and related fishes. They are collectively known as pirambebas; the "typical" piranhas like the piraya piranha are nowadays placed in Pygocentrus. Like all piranhas, Serrasalmus are native to South America.

One species, S. humeralis, was able to temporarily establish a breeding population in Florida before being eradicated in 1981.[2][3]

Description

Serrasalmus species have sharp teeth and generally have a compressed rhomboid shape.[4] In some, the shape is more ovoid, particularly in old specimens. There is also a high variation in color patterns found within this genus.[4] Some Serrasalmus species can exceed 20 in or 510 mm (S. manueli and S. rhombeus, according to OPEFE), placing them among the largest Serrasalmidae.

Diet

Serrasalmus species are primarily piscivorous, with varying degrees of propensity for omnivory depending on the species. Plant material ingested may include fruits and seeds.[5]

Evolution

Pericentric inversions are likely responsible for many of the chromosomal differences in Serrasalmus.[6][7]

Fossil record

Middle Miocene-aged fossil tooth remains of a serrasalmid potentially referable to Serrasalmus are known from the Pebas Formation of Peru. The genus otherwise does not have a fossil record.[8]

Species

Serrasalmus elongatus

These are the recognized species in this genus:[9]

  • Serrasalmus altispinis Merckx, Jégu & dos Santos, 2000
  • Serrasalmus altuvei Ramírez, 1965 (caribe pinche)
  • Serrasalmus aureus (Spix & Agassiz, 1829)
  • Serrasalmus brandtii Lütken, 1875 (white piranha)
  • Serrasalmus calmoni (Steindachner, 1908)
  • Serrasalmus careospinus W. L. Fink & Machado-Allison, 1992
  • Serrasalmus castellonae Gallo-Cardozo, Careaga & Carvajal-Vallejos, 2025
  • Serrasalmus compressus Jégu, Leão & dos Santos, 1991
  • Serrasalmus eigenmanni Norman, 1929
  • Serrasalmus elongatus Kner, 1858 (slender piranha, caribe pinche)
  • Serrasalmus emarginatus (Jardine, 1841)
  • Serrasalmus geryi Jégu & dos Santos, 1988 (violet line piranha)
  • Serrasalmus gibbus Castelnau, 1855
  • Serrasalmus gouldingi W. L. Fink & Machado-Allison, 1992 (blue tiger piranha)
  • Serrasalmus hastatus W. L. Fink & Machado-Allison, 2001
  • Serrasalmus hollandi (C. H. Eigenmann, 1915)
  • Serrasalmus humeralis Valenciennes, 1850 (pirambeba)
  • Serrasalmus irritans (W. K. H. Peters, 1877) (Iridescent piranha，"caribe pinche")
  • Serrasalmus maculatus Kner, 1858 (spotted piranha)
  • Serrasalmus maculipinnis W. L. Fink & Machado-Allison, 1992
  • S. eigenmanni, scale bar = 1 cm
    Serrasalmus manueli (Fernández-Yépez & Ramírez, 1967) (green tiger piranha, caribe parguasero)
  • Serrasalmus magallanesi Gallo-Cardozo, Maldonado, Careaga & Carvajal-Vallejos, 2024
  • Serrasalmus marginatus Valenciennes, 1837
  • Serrasalmus medinai Ramírez, 1965 (red-throated piranha)
  • Serrasalmus nalseni Fernández-Yépez, 1969 (caribe pintado)
  • Serrasalmus neveriensis Machado-Allison, W. L. Fink, López Rojas & Rodenas, 1993
  • Serrasalmus odyssei Hubert & Renno, 2010
  • Serrasalmus rhombeus (Linnaeus, 1766) (redeye piranha, caribe amarillo)
  • Serrasalmus sanchezi Géry, 1964 (sharp-snouted piranha)
  • Serrasalmus scapularis Günther, 1864
  • Serrasalmus serrulatus (Valenciennes, 1850) (caribe cortador)
  • Serrasalmus spilopleura Kner, 1858 (speckled piranha)

References

  1. ^ a b Fricke, Ron; Eschmeyer, William N. & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Serrasalminae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
  2. ^ Shafland, Paul L.; Foote, Karen Jo (1979). "A Reproducing Population of Serrasalmus Humeralis Valenciennes in Southern Florida". Florida Scientist. 42 (4): 206–214. ISSN 0098-4590. JSTOR 24319655.
  3. ^ "Serrasalmus humeralis". FishBase.
  4. ^ a b Fink, William L.; Machado-Allison (March 16, 2001). "Serrasalmus Hastatus, A New Species of Piranha From Brazil, With Comments On Serrasalmus Altuvei And Serrasalmus Compressus (Teleostei: Characiformes)". backend.production.deepblue-documents. Retrieved November 25, 2025.
  5. ^ Prudente, Bruno da S.; Carneiro-Marinho, Pedro; Valente, Roberta de M.; Montag, Luciano F. de A. (2016). "Feeding ecology of Serrasalmus gouldingi (Characiformes: Serrasalmidae) in the lower Anapu River region, Eastern Amazon, Brazil". Acta Amazonica. 46 (3): 259–270. Bibcode:2016AcAma..46..259P. doi:10.1590/1809-4392201600123. ISSN 0044-5967.
  6. ^ Nakayama, Celeste Mutuko; Rebelo Porto, Jorge Ivan; Feldberg, Eliana (2002-04-01). "A Comparative Cytogenetic Study of Five Piranha Species (Serrasalmus, Serrasalminae) from the Amazon Basin". Genetica. 114 (3): 231–236. doi:10.1023/A:1016275505655. ISSN 1573-6857. PMID 12206361.
  7. ^ Martins-Santos, I. C.; Julio-Jr, H. F.; Santos, S. J. (1994). "Chromosome Study of Two Species of the Genus Serrasalmus (Characidae, Serrasalminae) from the Parana River". Cytologia. 59 (2): 175–181. doi:10.1508/cytologia.59.175.
  8. ^ Carrillo-Briceño, Jorge D.; Aguilera, Orangel A.; Benites-Palomino, Aldo; Hsiou, Annie S.; Birindelli, José L. O.; Adnet, Sylvain; Cadena, Edwin-Alberto; Scheyer, Torsten M. (2021-12-20). "A historical vertebrate collection from the Middle Miocene of the Peruvian Amazon". Swiss Journal of Palaeontology. 140 (1): 26. Bibcode:2021SwJP..140...26C. doi:10.1186/s13358-021-00239-7. ISSN 1664-2384.
  9. ^ Fricke, Ron; Eschmeyer, William N. & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Species in the genus Serrasalmus". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
  • Media related to Serrasalmus at Wikimedia Commons
  • "Serrasalmus". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 6 June 2006.
  • Frank Magallanes (March 2015). "Serrasalmidae Classification List". OPEFE Archives.
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