Not quite a Pirhana – but close enough for one fisherman in Northern California.
Geoffrey Arend – the glassworker – not the actor married to Mad Men’s Christina Hendricks caught the fish at Roberts Lake on August 14th.
According to Fish and Wildlife the fish is a rare, omnivorous freshwater Pacu, a species with a bloodline that can be traced to South American piranhas.
The photo (above) shows Arend pulling open its mouth to reveal a small row of crooked, yellow teeth.
Arend says he probably won’t stick his finger inside the mouth of the next Amazonian fish with human-like teeth that he catches.
The species is invasive but doesn’t have a foothold in California,,,, and is not considered a threat.
But Fish and Wildlife says it shouldn’t be released back into the water when caught.
Pacu are illegal in California.
But people buy them out of state and dump them in California’s lakes and waterways.
