As with all other piranhas, it is one of the hardest biting creatures on the planet relative to the body weight.

This is a popular fish among aquarium hobbyists, although not as much as their red bellied or black piranha counterparts.

Most of the large specimens which have been caught from the wild and taken for aquarium use have died on the way to their destination.

But those individuals in their natural habitat have been reported by the locals to be more than 50 centimetres long which is yet to be confirmed by a reliable source.

This species is known to inhabit a diverse range of habitat from the areas of dense rainforest to the tropical grasslands of the Venezuelan Llanos.