Red-bellied piranha: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the red-bellied piranha lives – recorded in 6 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Pygocentrus nattereri
Group	Bony fish
Found in	6 countries
Continents	Asia, South America
Class	Ray-finned fish
Order	Characiformes
Family	Serrasalmidae

Where does the red-bellied piranha live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the red-bellied piranha in 6 countries and territories across Asia and South America. Wikidata gives its range as: Aurora do Pará. In Philippines it is listed as introduced (GRIIS checklists via GBIF).

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

What kind of animal is the red-bellied piranha?

The red-bellied piranha (Pygocentrus nattereri) is a ray-finned fish in the order Characiformes and the family Serrasalmidae, genus Pygocentrus. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the red-bellied piranha

The red-bellied piranha, also known as the red piranha (Pygocentrus nattereri), is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Serrasalmidae, which includes the pacus, piranhas and related fishes. The red-bellied piranha occurs in South America, found in the Amazon, Paraguay, Paraná and Essequibo basins, as well as coastal rivers of northeastern Brazil. This fish is locally abundant in its freshwater habitat.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Red-bellied piranha (revision 1378632190), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q928382 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).