Piranha caught in river in Greece

A fish caught in a river in Greece has been identified by scientists as a piranha, probably a pet released from an aquarium into the river, officials said. The fish, caught in the Evros River by a fisherman, was sent to the Fisheries Research Institute of Greece, or INALE, which identified it Thursday as a pygocentrus nattereri, or red-bellied piranha, Ekathimerini reported. Piranhas live mainly in the Amazon River Basin and have a reputation as a ferocious freshwater fish despite measuring no more than 12 inches in length. Scientists said it was almost certainly put into the river by someone who likely found the fish outgrowing a home aquarium. \"It would be better if they returned them to the shops where they bought them,\" INALE researcher Manos Koutrakis said. Piranhas would not be able to survive long in the Evros as they live in waters that have a temperature of 60 degrees to 80 degrees Fahrenheit, Koutrakis said.