Scientists have unearthed the fossilised remains of a piranha-like species that they say is the earliest known example of a flesh-eating fish.
This bony creature, found in South Germany, lived about 150 million years ago and had the distinctive sharp teeth of modern-day piranhas, reports BBC.
These Jurassic marauders used their razor teeth to tear chunks of flesh and fins off other fish.
Other fish were found nearby which had been attacked by the ancient piranhas.
"We have other fish from the same locality with chunks missing from their fins," said Dr David Bellwood of James Cook University, Australia, who is one of the authors of the study.
"Feed on a fish and it is dead; nibble its fins and you have food for the future."
The researchers analysed the jaws and found long pointed teeth on the exterior of a bone forming the roof of the mouth. They also found triangular teeth with serrated edges on bones that lie along the side of the lower-jaw.
The international team of scientists concluded that the pattern and shape of the teeth, jaw morphology and mechanics suggested a mouth well-equipped to slice flesh or fins.
"We were stunned that this fish had piranha-like teeth," says Martina Kölbl-Ebert, of Jura-Museum Eichstätt, who led the study.
"It comes from a group of fishes (the pycnodontids) that are famous for their crushing teeth. It is like finding a sheep with a snarl like a wolf. But what was even more remarkable is that it was from the Jurassic.
"Fish as we know them, bony fishes, just did not bite flesh of other fishes at that time. Sharks have been able to bite out chunks of flesh but throughout history bony fishes have either fed on invertebrates or largely swallowed their prey whole. Biting chunks of flesh or fins was something that came much later."
The study has been published in the journal, Current Biology.
