The discovery of what seems to be a piranha relative has prompted a wave of fear . The beast , although traditionally establish in South American river , was found in a pond in South Jersey last weekend . Some worry that the discovery could suggest the spread of the incursive fish , a type of pacu , and represent athreat to ecosystem , whereas some male reader will be panic that their crownwork gem may no longer be safe .
Why?Pacushave earned the alas equivocal nickname “ nutcracker fish , ” or the slightly less equivocal “ ballock - bite fish . ” The former is attributable to the fact that these preponderantly vegetarian fish employ their capriciously homo - like gnashers to chomp on backbreaking foods like nuts and seeds .
The latter recording label they have been undeservedly slap with add up about after various articles report on some allege castration events in Papua New Guinea that left two gentleman dead , supposedly at the jaws of pacus . But there is n’t any surd grounds to back up this call , making it far more likely to be a rumor than a reflection of their gustatory sensation for testicles .
But this fabled fancy for the manly genitals was not helped by the fact that the Pisces featured in a 2011 sequence of Animal Planet ’s “ River Monsters ” in which server Jeremy Wade described reports from local fisherman put to work in the orbit where the suppose onslaught took place . That , immix with the followingjokemade by Pisces the Fishes expert Henrik Carl , was enough to fire the ardor : “ They bite because they ’re hungry , and testicles sit down nicely in their mouth . ” accordingly , the name has stuck .
Enough about name calling – back to the discovery . The fish was catch by Burlington County house physician Ron Rossi on June 21 during a family sportfishing stumble to Swedes Lake , South Jersey . grant toWPVI , its appearance ab initio head them to believe it was a piranha , but after a good older Google session , the Rossi ’s conclude it was probably a pacu based on its distinctive dentition .
“ We did perpetrate the bottom back talk down to see what they looked like and they have almost human teeth,”said Rossi . “ It ’s exactly what it looked like on the Internet . ”
Although it ’s unmanageable to say how the fish ended up in an artificial lake in Jersey , the state ’s Department of Environmental Protection ( DEP ) believes the account likely begins at a pet shop . While the specimen only looks to be small , they can reach a meter ( 3 metrical foot ) in length and thus far outgrow the be space they are provided with .
“ Many times , these Pisces are deposited into lake by pet owners , ” a DEP spokespersonsaidin a statement . “ These Pisces do not pull round in cold-blooded water , so we boost people not to release it into the natural state but to humanely destroy the fish . ”
There are concerns that there could be more pacus lurking in the lake , but if they are not going around nibble at nether neighborhood , where does the worry stanch from ? The lake is often busy with swimmers , and there have been report of pacu bites before , but the risk is probably svelte . A greater headache is that they may knock over lake ecosystem by outcompeting native species or introducing disease .
[ ViaNational Geographic , WPVIandHuffington Post ]
