Piranhas

By: Emilio

Piranhas

By: Emilio

Table of Contents
Introduction

Page 1

Chapter 1:

Structures

Page 2

Chapter 2:

Functions

Page 3

Chapter 3:

Habitat & Adaptations

Page 4

Chapter 4:

Prey

Page 6

Chapter 5:

Predators

Page 7

Chapter 6: Awesome Facts

Chapter 7: Dangerous Kinds of Piranhas
Glossary
Bibliography

Page
Page
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8
9
10
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Page 1

Introduction
Piranhas are fast, strong and fierce. Piranhas are
really weird and strange.

red-bellied piranha

Page 2

Chapter 1: Structures
Piranhas have a lot of fins such as
the adipose fin, the dorsal fin, the
pectoral fin, the ventral fins, an
anal fin, and a tail fin. Piranhas
have lower jaws, some upper
jaws, some nares or nasal flaps
and eyes, of course. Piranhas have
scales, not skin or fur.

Diagram of a red-bellied piranha

Page 3

Chapter 2: Functions
Most piranha fins are for helping it swim,the jaws are for biting food. Eyes
are for seeing even though a piranhas eyes dont see very well but in the
muddy waters it should not need a good sense of seeing. Piranhas have good
sense of hearing because they have Webbers ossicles. A piranhas scales are
for protecting it from cold.

Scales of a black piranha.

Page 4

Chapter 3: Habitat and Adaptations

Piranhas live in the Amazon River Basin in northern South America. The
Amazon River Basin is the land that is around the Amazon River. The
Amazon River is the second biggest river in the world. It is about 4,000
miles or 6,000 kilometers long! The water temperature is very hot ~86 oF
(~30oC).
The Amazon River is a perfect place for piranhas to live because piranhas
are freshwater fish; they can't live in the ocean. They lay yellow eggs; so,
the yellow sand in the Amazon River is perfect to protect the eggs from
being eaten.

Page 5

South America: The continent were piranhas live

The Amazon River

Page 6

Chapter 4: Prey
Piranhas eat a variety of things. Piranhas are really not what you think. They
dont eat big animals or healthy animals. They eat anything that is sick,
unhealthy, or weak. Some piranhas have a diet of fins and scales from other
fish. Piranhas have razor sharp teeth to eat meat, but some prefer to eat
fruits, seeds and vegetables. Piranhas eat a lot of shrimp and crustaceans.
Piranhas dont eat a lot of meat, which was surprising for a lot of scientists
because piranhas have razor sharp teeth; so they thought piranhas would eat
a lot of meat.

A crab is a crustacean

Page 7

Chapter 5: Predators
There are many predators of piranhas. Piranhas are prey to wide mouth catfish,
crocodiles, big fish, botos, other species of piranhas, and people. Baby piranhas
get eaten more often than adult piranhas.

Fun Fact
A wide mouth
catfish can
swallow a
piranha whole!
Boto, a predator of a
piranha

Page 8

Chapter 6: Awesome Facts

Piranhas are attracted to blood. If blood is in the
water, piranhas get there quickly.
Piranhas can grow to about 8 to 12 inches long (20 to
30 cm long)! However, some piranhas can grow up to
22 inches long (56cm long)! Thats as big as a TV!
56cm TV

Page 9

Chapter 7: Dangerous Kinds of Piranhas

A black piranha is powerful black fish.
It has one of the most powerful jaws

A red-bellied piranha is fast fierce and

sneaky. A red bellied piranha is one of the
fastest fish in the world.

in the world.

A black piranha

a red-bellied piranha

Page 10

Glossary
Word

Definition

Boto

A pink dolphin

continent

A big piece/chunk of land

crustacean

A type of animal that has a shell

piranha

A strong ,fierce and smart fish

razor

The tool men use to shave

scales

The skin of some sea animals and reptiles

variety

Trying different things

Webbers ossicles

Some bones that help an animal hear high pitched sounds

Page 11

Bibliography
Books
Grossman, Susan. Piranhas.
Landau, Elaine. Piranhas.
Websites
Piranha Diagrams
The Natural Habitat of Piranhas
Wikipedia