時差N小時:食人魚 Piranha

Piranha! For most people, the name sparks horror-movie images of vicious schools of fish that canreduce a human to a skeleton in minutes.

食人魚!對大多數(shù)人來講，這個名字會使人聯(lián)想起邪惡魚群的恐怖電影，這種魚能使人在幾分種之內(nèi)變成一個骨架。

But do they really deserve this fearsomereputation? Piranhas are freshwater fish that arefound in rivers and floodplains of South America. Themost well-known species is the red-bellied piranha,but there are nearly forty other different species ofpiranha.

然而它們真的配得上這樣恐怖的名聲嗎?食人魚是一種淡水魚類，多發(fā)現(xiàn)于河流及南美澇原上。最出名的種群莫過于紅肚水虎魚，不過水虎魚的種類其實有大約四十種。

They aren't very large, but do have a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth and a strong jaw. So itmay surprise you to learn that piranhas are not the bloodthirsty killers portrayed in films. Theyaren't even strict carnivores!

它們體型不大，但嘴巴里布滿了如刮胡刀般鋒利的牙齒和強壯的下顎。所以當了解到食人魚并非如電影里刻畫的那樣殘忍嗜血時，你肯定會感到驚訝。嚴格來說，它們甚至連食肉動物都不算!

Most piranha species are omnivores and scavengers. Their diet is mostly made of insects andother fish, but also plants. During the rainy season when food is plentiful, piranhas eat moreplants and insects. But in the dry season when ponds and rivers dry up and food becomes morescarce, piranha turn to meat-eating, usually in the form of other fish. Piranhas occasionallybite humans or other mammals when very hungry or threatened, but serious attacks areextremely rare.

大多種類的食人魚是雜食動物、食腐動物。它們多以昆蟲以及其它魚類為食，但也吃植物。在雨季食物豐富時，食人魚多數(shù)吃植物和昆蟲。遇上旱季河流和湖泊干涸時，食物變得匱乏，食人魚就開始吃肉，基本上是吃其他魚類。但在饑餓或者受到威脅時，食人魚偶爾會攻擊人類或其他哺乳動物，但很少出現(xiàn)嚴重襲擊事件。

Another common belief is that piranha form large schools for hunting, allowing them to attacklarger prey than a single fish could. However, researchers found that piranha most likely grouptogether as a defense against such predators as river dolphins, caimans and bigger fish, andnot to engage in feeding-frenzies.

人們普遍認為食人魚聚成一大群是為了捕食，這樣相對于單兵作戰(zhàn)更易捕獵到較大的獵物。但是，研究者們發(fā)現(xiàn)食人魚拉幫結(jié)伙更多是為了抵御食肉動物——如河豚、凱門鱷和一些大型魚類的攻擊，而不是忙于覓食。

Despite their sharp teeth and nasty reputation, these scavengers really spend their daysgrazing on different foods in their environment and huddle together for safety.

盡管它們牙齒鋒利，臭名昭著，但這些食腐動物的確是以在自己的地盤覓食度日，出于安全原因才群聚在一起。

So while piranha may not win your hearts with cuddly good looks, they are probably morevictim than vicious.

食人魚沒有可愛的樣貌來贏得你心，與此同時它們更有可能是受害者。