Pygocentrus is a genus

Genus

In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 of the piranha

Piranha

A piranha or piraña is a member of family Characidae in order Characiformes, an omnivorous freshwater fish that inhabits South American rivers. In Venezuela, they are called caribes...

 family Characidae

Characidae

The Characidae, characids or characins are a family of freshwater subtropical and tropical fish, belonging to the order Characiformes. The name "characins" is the historical one, but scientists today tend to prefer "characids" to reflect their status as a by and large monophyletic group at family...

. All are native to tropical South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

. It is mainly located in the Amazon, San Francisco and Orinoco rivers. Three especies are fully recognized. P. cariba (Humboldt, 1821) in the Orinoco; P. nattereri Kner, 1869 in the Amazonas: and P. piraya (Cuvier, 1819) in the San Francisco River. P. palometa Valenciennes, 1850 is a dubious species (Fink, 1993; Machado-Allison and Fink, 1996). All the species are predatory, scavengers and form huge schools. The Chi-Cohala tribe uses the teeth to make tools and weapons.

Species

• Pygocentrus cariba
  Pygocentrus Cariba
  Pygocentrus cariba or Black Spot Piranha is a species of piranha native to the Orinoco River basin lowlands and the Llanos region in Venezuela....
  
  (black shoulder piranha, caribe Colorado Orinoco River)
• Pygocentrus nattereri (red piranha, commonly red-bellied piranha among aquarists, Amazonas)
• Pygocentrus palometa
• Pygocentrus piraya (San Francisco
  São Francisco River
  The São Francisco is a river in Brazil. With a length of , it is the longest river that runs entirely in Brazilian territory, and the fourth longest in South America and overall in Brazil...
  
  piranha)