By Josie August 15th, 2023
With a voracious appetite and razor-sharp teeth, the piranhas are seen devouring an alligator carcass at an incredible speed.
Their razor-sharp teeth are triangular, tightly packed, and perfectly interlocking.
When they lose a tooth, a new one quickly grows back in its place, ensuring that they always have a full set of lethal weapons at their disposal.
The black piranha, in particular, can exert a bite force equivalent to 30 times its body weight, a feat unparalleled in the natural world.
When compared relative to their size, piranhas surpass even the mighty Tyrannosaurus rex.
The strength of a piranha’s bite is thanks to the robust muscles of its jaw: this powerful musculature allows the fish to exert significant force.
The ancestor of the modern piranha, the extinct Megapiranha paranensis, reached lengths of up to 3.3 feet.
Scientists have estimated that their bite force was between 1,240 to 4,749 Newtons: a force equivalent to a great white shark weighing over 880 pounds.