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Reputation

Various stories exist about piranhas, such as how they can skeletonize a human body or cattle in seconds. These legends refer specifically to the red-bellied piranha.

Piranha solution, a dangerous mixture of sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide known to aggressively dissolve organic material, draws its name from these legends surrounding the piranha fish.

A common falsehood is that they can be attracted by blood and are exclusively carnivores. A Brazilian legend called "piranha cattle" states that they sweep the rivers at high speed and attack the first of the cattle entering the water allowing the rest of the group to traverse the river. These legends were dismissed through research by Hélder Queiroz and Anne Magurran and published in Biology Letters.