Black Spot Piranha Pygocentrus cariba

The Black Spot Piranha is native to the Orinoco river system in Venezuela and Colombia. Like many piranhas, it can be red-bellied, but usually has a distinctive black spot behind the gill.

They can grow to 28cm long and live in shoals for protection against predators. They are carnivorous and are said even to be cannibalistic, leading to the scientific name cariba which means cannibal in the native language, deriving from a local island tribe.