# Piranha Bite Potwer



## brandtixmn (Jun 4, 2005)

Hello Everyon
I was in a argument about the piranha bite potwer with one m**********r in korean piranha forum. According to piranha documentary video, the narrator said " It is said that a mature S. Rhombeus is capable of severing a man's hand at the wrist in two or three bites, and given the potential size of this large and very powerful species, it's hard to believe this is a gross exaggeration. " and according to dr myers, 
"It is my opinion the bite power is probably in the approximate range of 120-300 lbs sq. inch depending on size of fish" so the guy said, even if tge bite power of jaguar is roughly 300kg, they could not even severe a man's hand at the wirst in one bite. how piranha could capable of severing a man's hand at the wrist in two or tthree bites. and he keeps saying bite power of 120-300 cannot severe man's wrist.

Can anyone know any reliable information so i can explain to him? Do you have any other reliable information?


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## FEEFA (Nov 19, 2007)

Tell your buddy that the razor sharp teeth also play a part


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## T-wag (May 21, 2009)

yes...jaguar have fangs...piranhas have a solid row of razor sharp teeth


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## 1rhom (Nov 6, 2009)

I would imagine that razor sharp teeth have better cutting capabilities.


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## brandtixmn (Jun 4, 2005)

thank you so much for the informtion guys. but i need some scientific information that support dr. Myers idea. Is it really true that piranha bite power is roughly 130lb to 300 lb? Do you have any more information from reliable sources?


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## Johnny_Zanni (Nov 8, 2009)

The documenty he is talking about for anyone wonder is Wolf In The Water. (The best piranha documentry IMO)

In that movie they are refering to rhoms around 14-16" so I would think that 130-300lbs of bite force is not at all unrealistic.

Like everyone else said. A jaguar has fangs and the rest of its teeth are molars. Where as a piranha have consistantly razor sharp teeth in every part of their mouth.


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## Dolphinswin (Jun 26, 2010)

Wolf in the water? Has this ever been aired in the states? Im intersted in watching it.


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## Piranha_man (Jan 29, 2005)

Yes the pirhana has a very mitey biteng potwer.
They can rip a man's rist in haf in secunds!


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## Johnny_Zanni (Nov 8, 2009)

Dolphinswin said:


> Yes the pirhana has a very mitey biteng potwer.
> They can rip a man's rist in haf in secunds!


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## 1rhom (Nov 6, 2009)

Piranha_man said:


> Yes the pirhana has a very mitey biteng potwer.
> They can rip a man's rist in haf in secunds!


yew sed it!


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## Hogdog (Feb 1, 2010)

The key to what is said is that it's pounds per square inch, not pounds.

The Jaguar's jaw power is given (as you wrote it) in total power, not relative to an area. A Jaguar will obviously have a much more powerful jaw but spreads it's bite across a much larger area. The sharpness of the teeth and the relatively small mouth vastly increases the force acting on a set area.

300lbs acting on 1 square inch = 300lbs per sq inch

300lbs acting on 1/4 square inch = 1200lbs per square inch.


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## brandtixmn (Jun 4, 2005)

Hogdog said:


> The key to what is said is that it's pounds per square inch, not pounds.
> 
> The Jaguar's jaw power is given (as you wrote it) in total power, not relative to an area. A Jaguar will obviously have a much more powerful jaw but spreads it's bite across a much larger area. The sharpness of the teeth and the relatively small mouth vastly increases the force acting on a set area.
> 
> ...


thank you so much for the info. i really like what you explained to me. That guy said, jaguar's bite power is 300kg. not 300 pound. He said, he found this info from some documentary. i already asked him for the reference. i do not think that he will provide this info. I really do not want to waste my time with this kid, but this might be good opportunity to teach the right info before we go to college.
His argument is, 16" rhom's mouth is too small to rip a man's wrist. i will try to invite him p-fury and we can more discuss with him. I really like how Frank studied or collected scientific information from educated scientists.


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## Grosse Gurke (Jan 3, 2003)

I think in the documentary they are referring to the size of the wrist and the fact that it is not comprised on bone. When you talk about severing a wrist....you are not talking about going through the bone like you would if you were talking about a forearm. I can say that in two or three bites a large rhombeus could easily take bites that would remove the amount of meat needed to get through a 2"X 3" chunk of meat. When you see a carcass that has been stripped by a piranha they strip the flesh down to the bone...they dont break the bones to get at the marrow like some animals do. So really....I dont know if a rhom could bite through a solid bone if they wanted....I am not saying it isnt possible but I dont think there is any evidence that it has happened.

BTW...300kg = over 600 pounds.


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## Johnny_Zanni (Nov 8, 2009)

300kg = 660lbs

I agree GG a jaguars tooth having more area would be better for going through bone. But a piranhas razor sharp teeth would be better going through flesh.


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## Ibanez247 (Nov 9, 2006)

I dont know exact numbers for the force of a piranhas bite but its said they have relatively weak jaw muscles. Their teeth is what makes them able to cut through meat so easily. Demonstrations of a piranha biting a pencil size twig dont mean squat. I can break a pencil with my pinky. You are right though in that it is estimated to be around 120-300 lbs sq. in. 300lb isnt that much. A humans bite can be in the same region and even higher in some cases. How do I know? I know how to use google.


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## brandtixmn (Jun 4, 2005)

Ibanez247 said:


> I dont know exact numbers for the force of a piranhas bite but its said they have relatively weak jaw muscles. Their teeth is what makes them able to cut through meat so easily. Demonstrations of a piranha biting a pencil size twig dont mean squat. I can break a pencil with my pinky. You are right though in that it is estimated to be around 120-300 lbs sq. in. 300lb isnt that much. A humans bite can be in the same region and even higher in some cases. How do I know? I know how to use google.


thank you for the info. I am not just looking for any information from googles. As i stated my previous post, i am looking for more scientific data. i love to hear any info from everyone, but if you can tell me reliable source
+, i really appreciate it. Thanks


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## T-wag (May 21, 2009)

lol fact is, id rather get bit by a full grown piranha then a jaguar!


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## 02stampede (Jul 20, 2010)

Not to mention that they rely more on a side to side sawing motion with their body and teeth, tearing off chunks of meat, rather than hard bite pressure.


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