Ferocious piranha found in Evros River
The Fisheries Research Institute (INALE) confirmed on Thursday that a fish caught in the Evros River recently was a piranha.
The organization was sent the specimen by 58-year-old Costas Tsolakidis, who caught it.
INALE identified the fish as pygocentrus nattereri, or red-bellied piranha.
It lives mainly in the Amazon River Basin and has a reputation for being one of the most ferocious freshwater fish in the world despite measuring no more than 33 centimeters in length.
Researches said that it is likely someone had the fish in the aquarium and emptied it into the river.
?It would be better if they returned them to the shops where they bought them,? said INALE researcher Manos Koutrakis, who added that piranhas would not be able to survive in the Evros as they live in waters that have a temperature of 20-27 Celsius.
