Claim:   Photographs show a world record-sized piranha caught in the Congo River.

Status:   Undetermined.

Example:   [Collected via e-mail, June 2007]

DON'T SWIM IN THE CONGO RIVER I DON'T KNOW WHAT TYPE OF FISH THIS IS, AND I DON'T REALLY WANT TO FIND OUT. The next time you're wading in your third world eco-paradise stream or lake, just remember, your place in the food chain may get re-shuffled. I bet things like this reduce the urge to go skinny dipping. "JUST PICK HIM UP BY THE GILLS, AND BRING HIM ABOARD!" World record size Piranha!!

Origins:   We don't know details about when, where, and how the fish pictured above was captured, but the accompanying text appears to be wrong in identifying it as a piranha. This fish looks to be an African tiger fish which, although related to the piranha, is a distinctly different species and is found in a very different part of the world (i.e., Africa vs. South America).

Last updated:   7 August 2007

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