Outline:
Email forward with photographs of a large fish with a mouth full of long, sharp teeth, claims that the fish is a world record sized piranha.
Brief Analysis:
Genuine photographs – False Description
Subject: World Record Size PiranhaWorld record size Piranha!!
A little swim in the Amazon Canyon anyone???
Detailed Analysis:
According to the subject line and description that comes with these images, the fish shown in the photographs is a world record sized piranha.
There is no disputing that the fish is a large one, and, with a mouthful of sharp teeth, a ferocious looking one at that! However, the fish is not a piranha. In fact it is a Giant Tigerfish (aka Goliath Tigerfish, African Tigerfish). Tigerfish and piranha belong to the same family (Characidae) but are entirely different species. Piranha can grow to a maximum length of 60 cm, but most are smaller.
The natural habitat of the Giant Tigerfish is the rivers and streams of Africa. Although the fish shown in the photographs is a large example of its species, Giant Tigerfish are known to grow to enormous sizes and are considered by fishermen around the world as one of the top game fish.
The exact location where the shots were taken and the identity of the fishermen is currently unclear.
First published: 31st October 2007
By Brett M. Christensen
About Hoax-Slayer
References
Giant tigerfish
Goliath Tigerfish
Importance Notice
After considerable thought and with an ache in my heart, I have decided that the time has come to close down the Hoax-Slayer website.These days, the site does not generate enough revenue to cover expenses, and I do not have the financial resources to sustain it going forward.
Moreover, I now work long hours in a full-time and physically taxing job, so maintaining and managing the website and publishing new material has become difficult for me.
And finally, after 18 years of writing about scams and hoaxes, I feel that it is time for me to take my fingers off the keyboard and focus on other projects and pastimes.
When I first started Hoax-Slayer, I never dreamed that I would still be working on the project all these years later or that it would become such an important part of my life. It's been a fantastic and engaging experience and one that I will always treasure.
I hope that my work over the years has helped to make the Internet a little safer and thwarted the activities of at least a few scammers and malicious pranksters.
A Big Thank You
I would also like to thank all of those wonderful people who have supported the project by sharing information from the site, contributing examples of scams and hoaxes, offering suggestions, donating funds, or helping behind the scenes.I would especially like to thank David White for his tireless contribution to the Hoax-Slayer Facebook Page over many years. David's support has been invaluable, and I can not thank him enough.
Closing Date
Hoax-Slayer will still be around for a few weeks while I wind things down. The site will go offline on May 31, 2021. While I will not be publishing any new posts, you can still access existing material on the site until the date of closure.Thank you, one and all!
Brett Christensen,
Hoax-Slayer
