Invasive Pacu Fish With Human-Like Teeth Found in New Jersey
But fish’s testicle-eating reputation is a myth, scientists say.
A relative of the piranhas with a mythical taste for human flesh was found in a New Jersey lake this weekend, setting off fears about the spread of invasive species.
The fish, thought to be a South American pacu, is known for its teeth, which bear an eerie resemblance to human teeth. Pacus primarily eat plants and are considered mostly harmless to people, despite their kinship with piranhas. But they do occasionally eat other fish and can potentially outcompete native species or spread parasites or disease. (See the scariest freshwater fish.)
Pacus normally ply the waters of the Amazon and other South American river systems, but angler Ron Rossi caught one in Swedes Lake in southern New Jersey