Pygocentrus

Pygocentrus is a genus of the piranha family Serrasalmidae. All species are native to tropical and subtropical South America. All the species are predatory, scavengers and may form large schools. The famous red-bellied piranha, Pygocentrus nattereri, is one of four species in the genus.

Species
There are currently four recognized species in this genus:


 * Pygocentrus cariba (Humboldt, 1821) (black spot piranha) – Orinoco river basin.
 * Pygocentrus nattereri Kner, 1858 (red piranha, red-bellied piranha) – Amazon, Paraguay-Paraná-Uruguay, and Essequibo river basins, as well as various river in northeastern Brazil.
 * Pygocentrus palometa Valenciennes, 1850 – Orinoco river basin, possibly a nomen dubium.
 * Pygocentrus piraya (G. Cuvier, 1819) (San Francisco piranha) – São Francisco River