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Piranhas and their plant-eating relatives, pacus, replace rows of teeth all at once

Not losing teeth individually might help distribute wear and tear from the fishes’ diets more evenly

Piranha skull scan

Rows of well-developed teeth lurk in the jaw, ready to replace ones already in use on one side of a red-bellied piranha’s (Pygocentrus nattereri) mouth, as seen in these views of a museum specimen.

M. Kolmann/GWU

By Priyanka Runwal

- More than 2 years ago

When it comes to scary teeth, piranhas’ bite is among the most fearsome.