Navigation Links
Black piranha, megapiranha have most powerful bites of fish living or extinct, finds GW researcher
Date:12/20/2012

WASHINGTON The black piranha and the extinct giant piranha, or megapiranha, have the most powerful bites of carnivorous fishes, living or extinct, once body size is taken into account, finds researchers in a paper recently published in Scientific Reports. The research paper, Mega-Bites: Extreme jaw forces of living and extinct piranhas, highlights the piranhas' specialized jaw morphology, which allows them to attack and bite chunks out of much larger prey.

Guillermo Ort, the George Washington University Louis Weintraub Professor of Biology in the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, is one of the authors of the paper. His research focuses on the evolution of fishes in general, but specializes on Amazonian fishes, to unravel evolutionary relationships based on DNA sequence data. In 2010, Dr. Orti along with other researchers participated in an expedition to the Xingu and Iriri rivers in Amazonia to collect the data on the fish.

Piranhas' aggressive nature, relatively small size and accessible populations make them a suitable group of predatory vertebrates in which to study the evolution of extreme biting capabilities. Even at their small body sizes, diet studies indicate that piranhas will attack and bite chunks of bony fins and flesh from prey many times larger than themselves. In spite of their reputation, no quantitative data or empirical estimates regarding the piranhas biting abilities were available.

The paper reports the first bite-force measurements taken from wild specimens of the largest species of carnivorous piranha in the Amazon, the black piranha, and describes the underlying functional morphology of the jaws that allows this creature to bite with a force more than 30 times greater than its weight. The powerful bite is achieved primarily due to the large muscle mass of the black piranha's jaw and the efficient transmission of its large contractile forces through a highly modified jaw-closing lever.

The ex
'/>"/>

Contact: Latarsha Gatlin
lgatlin@gwu.edu
202-994-5631
George Washington University
Source:Eurekalert  

0

GOOD

Page: 1 2

Related biology news :

1. Black flies may have a purpose after all
2. Wiley-Blackwell launches new open-access journal: Food Science & Nutrition
3. Black brant geese show lifetime relationship good for goose and gander
4. Are brown widows displacing black widow spiders around southern California homes?
5. Sickle cell trait can cause sudden cardiac death in black athletes: Why is this controversial?
6. Unusual weather events identified during the Black Saturday bushfires
7. Black belts white matter shows how a powerful punch comes from the brain
8. Human impact felt on Black Sea long before industrial era
9. Scientists find aphid resistance in black raspberry
10. Lack of vitamin D contributes to pain in black Americans with knee osteoarthritis
11. Le Rouge et le Noir: Where the black dahlia gets its color
Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
Related Image:
Black piranha, megapiranha have most powerful bites of fish living or extinct, finds GW researcher
(Date:5/23/2013)... fastest growing open-access publishers, announces the launch of ... Biotechnology . , A broad scope journal ... Biotechnology will provide a single open-access platform ... to be disseminated and discussed. , ... an open-science and interactive web platform for the ...
(Date:5/22/2013)... cell powered buses, including a team from Simon ... processes and bus membrane durability. , The team ... in the operating cycle of the bus on ... study, led by SFU graduate student Natalia MaCauley, ... Burnaby-based Ballard Power Systems and funded by Automotive ...
(Date:5/22/2013)... The discovery of potential environmental and human health ... batteries each year has led scientists to recommend ... reuse of lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery materials. That,s the ... journal Environmental Science & Technology . , ... Li-ion batteries have become mainstays for powering everything ...
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):Frontiers launches new open-access journal in Bioengineering and Biotechnology 2Tests lead to doubling of fuel cell life 2
... A new study has shown that racehorses are extremely ... can adapt very quickly to sudden shifts in the 24-hour ... with unexpected benefits on their physical performance. The ... of Medical and Veterinary Sciences is published in the ...
... WASHINGTON and LONDON On the heels of a ... D.C., leaders of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and ... global insurance and reinsurance broker headquartered in the U.K., pledged ... financial resilience of populations to extreme events. Although 2011 ...
... N.Y., Oct. 18, 2011 When North Carolina,s "Laura,s Law" ... became the 8th state in the last year to pass ... DUI laws from penalizing cars to required—and enforced—sobriety for the ... poised to join the movement, as state lawmakers look at ...
Cached Biology News:Light dependency underlies beneficial jetlag in racehorses 2Light dependency underlies beneficial jetlag in racehorses 3US science academy and global reinsurance broker spark 2US science academy and global reinsurance broker spark 3US science academy and global reinsurance broker spark 4Are Alcohol Anklets the New Ignition Interlock? 2Are Alcohol Anklets the New Ignition Interlock? 3Are Alcohol Anklets the New Ignition Interlock? 4
(Date:5/23/2013)... , May 23, 2013 Pusan National ... a private biotherapeutics and contract research company focused ... for cancer, announced today a publication reporting the ... with the oncolytic and immunotherapeutic vaccinia JX-594 (pexastimogene ... was published in the May 15 th , ...
(Date:5/23/2013)... (PRWEB) May 23, 2013 ... ancestry tracing for people of African descent, today ... product offering. For people of all races, myDNAmix ... from five distinct populations: Indigenous Americas (Native American), ... India Subcontinent. , Originally launched in ...
(Date:5/23/2013)... 2013 Bed bugs compromised Penn ... already confirmed it. Meanwhile, My Cleaning Products offered complimentary samples ... fight the pests without using harmful chemical elements. , ... 2013, the affected building was actually a dormitory , ... said made on May 13 and bed bug presence was ...
(Date:5/23/2013)... Newmarket, NH (PRWEB) May 23, 2013 Ralph ... all of their emergency management products and emergency survival ... , This announcement was made at the quarterly executive ... meeting with a moment of silence for the Oklahoma tornado ... executives that the quality of their emergency kits is paramount. ...
Breaking Biology Technology:Pusan National University Announces Science Translational Medicine Publication Highlighting Landmark Demonstration of Functional Anti-Cancer Antibody Induction in Patients Following JX-594 Treatment 2Pusan National University Announces Science Translational Medicine Publication Highlighting Landmark Demonstration of Functional Anti-Cancer Antibody Induction in Patients Following JX-594 Treatment 3AfricanAncestry.com Rolls Out Improved MyDNAMix Admixture Test for People of all Races; Enhancements Increase Accuracy in Estimation of Ancestral Makeup 2AfricanAncestry.com Rolls Out Improved MyDNAMix Admixture Test for People of all Races; Enhancements Increase Accuracy in Estimation of Ancestral Makeup 3Penn State Dorm Infested with Bed Bugs, My Cleaning Products Offers Complimentary Sample of Bed Bug Spray to Help Bed Bug Victims 2PHI Emergency Management on Announces Father's Day Specials All Emergency Survival Kits 2
... NEW YORK, Oct. 29 Regenicin, Inc. ... company specializing in the development of regenerative cell therapies ... today announced that the Company,s Chief Executive Officer, Randall ... at RetailInvestorConferences.com .DATE: , November 4, 2010TIME: ...
... Performance in Q3, Full Year Earnings Expectations Increased, New... -- DUBLIN, October 29, 2010 ... ... if (typeof(lpUnit)==,undefined,) var lpUnit=,PRN,; --> ... = ""; BitlyCB.alertResponse = function(data) { var s = ,; var first_result; // Results are keyed by longUrl, so ...
... Oct. 28 Cephalon, Inc. (Nasdaq: CEPH ) ... 32 percent increase compared to sales of $535.2 million for ... the quarter was $1.76.  Excluding amortization expense and certain other ... was $2.27, a 34 percent increase over the $1.70 for ...
Cached Biology Technology:Regenicin to Present Live at RetailInvestorConferences.com on November 4th 2Shire plc: Continued Excellent Performance in Q3, Full Year Earnings Expectations Increased, New Value in Pipeline Emerging 2Shire plc: Continued Excellent Performance in Q3, Full Year Earnings Expectations Increased, New Value in Pipeline Emerging 3Shire plc: Continued Excellent Performance in Q3, Full Year Earnings Expectations Increased, New Value in Pipeline Emerging 4Shire plc: Continued Excellent Performance in Q3, Full Year Earnings Expectations Increased, New Value in Pipeline Emerging 5Shire plc: Continued Excellent Performance in Q3, Full Year Earnings Expectations Increased, New Value in Pipeline Emerging 6Shire plc: Continued Excellent Performance in Q3, Full Year Earnings Expectations Increased, New Value in Pipeline Emerging 7Shire plc: Continued Excellent Performance in Q3, Full Year Earnings Expectations Increased, New Value in Pipeline Emerging 8Shire plc: Continued Excellent Performance in Q3, Full Year Earnings Expectations Increased, New Value in Pipeline Emerging 9Shire plc: Continued Excellent Performance in Q3, Full Year Earnings Expectations Increased, New Value in Pipeline Emerging 10Shire plc: Continued Excellent Performance in Q3, Full Year Earnings Expectations Increased, New Value in Pipeline Emerging 11Shire plc: Continued Excellent Performance in Q3, Full Year Earnings Expectations Increased, New Value in Pipeline Emerging 12Shire plc: Continued Excellent Performance in Q3, Full Year Earnings Expectations Increased, New Value in Pipeline Emerging 13Shire plc: Continued Excellent Performance in Q3, Full Year Earnings Expectations Increased, New Value in Pipeline Emerging 14Shire plc: Continued Excellent Performance in Q3, Full Year Earnings Expectations Increased, New Value in Pipeline Emerging 15Shire plc: Continued Excellent Performance in Q3, Full Year Earnings Expectations Increased, New Value in Pipeline Emerging 16Shire plc: Continued Excellent Performance in Q3, Full Year Earnings Expectations Increased, New Value in Pipeline Emerging 17Shire plc: Continued Excellent Performance in Q3, Full Year Earnings Expectations Increased, New Value in Pipeline Emerging 18Shire plc: Continued Excellent Performance in Q3, Full Year Earnings Expectations Increased, New Value in Pipeline Emerging 19Shire plc: Continued Excellent Performance in Q3, Full Year Earnings Expectations Increased, New Value in Pipeline Emerging 20Shire plc: Continued Excellent Performance in Q3, Full Year Earnings Expectations Increased, New Value in Pipeline Emerging 21Shire plc: Continued Excellent Performance in Q3, Full Year Earnings Expectations Increased, New Value in Pipeline Emerging 22Shire plc: Continued Excellent Performance in Q3, Full Year Earnings Expectations Increased, New Value in Pipeline Emerging 23Shire plc: Continued Excellent Performance in Q3, Full Year Earnings Expectations Increased, New Value in Pipeline Emerging 24Shire plc: Continued Excellent Performance in Q3, Full Year Earnings Expectations Increased, New Value in Pipeline Emerging 25Shire plc: Continued Excellent Performance in Q3, Full Year Earnings Expectations Increased, New Value in Pipeline Emerging 26Shire plc: Continued Excellent Performance in Q3, Full Year Earnings Expectations Increased, New Value in Pipeline Emerging 27Shire plc: Continued Excellent Performance in Q3, Full Year Earnings Expectations Increased, New Value in Pipeline Emerging 28Shire plc: Continued Excellent Performance in Q3, Full Year Earnings Expectations Increased, New Value in Pipeline Emerging 29Shire plc: Continued Excellent Performance in Q3, Full Year Earnings Expectations Increased, New Value in Pipeline Emerging 30Shire plc: Continued Excellent Performance in Q3, Full Year Earnings Expectations Increased, New Value in Pipeline Emerging 31Shire plc: Continued Excellent Performance in Q3, Full Year Earnings Expectations Increased, New Value in Pipeline Emerging 32Shire plc: Continued Excellent Performance in Q3, Full Year Earnings Expectations Increased, New Value in Pipeline Emerging 33Cephalon Reports Record Earnings and Raises 2010 Guidance 2Cephalon Reports Record Earnings and Raises 2010 Guidance 3
... White solid. PROTECT FROM LIGHT. PACKAGED ... soluble pyrimidinone compound that acts as a ... PARP (IC 50 = 200 nM ... respectively) with little activity against the dehydrogenase ...
...
... is used to screen blots of mini format ... screen up to 40 different antibodies or sera ... The apparatus includes a base plate, 2 separate, ... 8 x 7 cm membranes, and gaskets and ...
Fingerprinting II database sharing tools is an optional module for the Fingerprinting II Basic software package that enables peer-to-peer data exchange over the internet and provides external databas...
Biology Products: