Volume 32, Plate XVI / Ichthyology (Fish)

Piranha Saw-Bellied Salmon

Serrasalmo piranha

Growing ten or eleven inches and plentiful in the Rio Branco, this very voracious fish takes the bait eagerly and is killed by hook and line in great numbers, having a compressed body, high back, and remarkably strong jaws armed with sharp triangular serrated teeth in single rows. Lead-coloured above with vermilion belly and lower fins, it shows striated opercles and a lateral line bent near the head; its brilliant colour dulls to yellow when kept in spirits.