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Designed
by
Frank Magallanes,
Adopted August 1993
Founder,
Piranha Researcher......Frank Magallanes
Emails
are screened for content.
VIETNAM
VETERANS
Also
for Vietnam Veteran's I have included a link to a memorial near the
California/Oregon border.
Please
enjoy your visit.
OREGON
BEGINNINGS
This
fish, S. rhombeus was sent to Frank for donation to Sutherlin
Middle School Science Department by George Fear, New Jersey. The fish is
now in this department for grade age students to study and learn about
piranhas from the Amazon River, South America
A
front page News-Review Newspaper (circa 1993) pertaining to the
confiscation of piranhas by the Oregon State Police .
As
an extension of his hobby, Frank also creates preserved specimens that
are mounted on a plaque.
Below
are some examples of this work:
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WELCOME TO OPEFE
ARCHIVES
OPEFE
- FRANK MAGALLANES
FROM FRANK
MAGALLANES
Presently, all
material and the HOME PAGE is being revised with new information
and a new look. As most people know who are familiar with this
web site, it is a living document that is constantly being
revised and changed. Most of the species you will read about are based
on my own personal experience and photographs taken are of those
specimens both living and now dead. Many of these pages were written in
1994, but not released until 1996 on the world wide web. There are
indeed many pages to read and absorb. Just remember, this is a living
document and changes occur regularly.
We also have a
Piranha Forum that you can visit that is hobbyist oriented.
This confiscation
began the sequence of events which led Frank Magallanes to fight
for legalization of piranhas in Oregon.
Founded in 1994,
the not-for-profit, Oregon Piranha and Exotic Fish Exhibit, OPEFE
founder, Frank Magallanes (now retired), has been lecturing at local
schools for students interested in piranhas and other similar fishes for
a number of years. The exhibit was created to develop and advance
people's awareness of the feared piranha and other predatory
fishes.
OPEFE and Frank
Magallanes have been featured on many TV News stations for his expertise
on piranhas, including National Geographic Explorer. Frank also provided
information to the Discovery Channel and Be The Creature on their shows
about piranhas. The Elaine Landau "PIRANHAS" book also
features photos of OPEFE piranhas and Frank himself. Below are
photographs of Frank putting his hand inside the aquarium housing an S.
rhombeus in front of live TV news cameras. Even though this
species is commonly called a pirambeba it does have razor sharp teeth
and powerful musculature. Frank wanted demonstrate (as he has thousands
of times) that piranhas and pirambebas don't automatically bite your
hand in the aquarium.
Winning in the
courts (State of Oregon vs. Magallanes) broadcasted via KOBI-TV Channel
5 News
Filming Urban
Piranhas, a National Geographic Explorer Special
Including
a trip to the local grocery market Priceless Foods in Sutherlin, Oregon
to buy piranha food off the shelf. David Schleser (Dallas Aquarium) and
Richard Conniff (National Geographic) take a swim with piranhas in the
large public aquarium.
While the OPEFE
closed in 2000 after serving its purpose, its founder continues to help
people worldwide in learning about piranhas. Frank continues to
keep piranhas and exotic fishes as a hobby. These are some of the live
specimens he has kept:
-
Pygocentrus
piraya
-
Pygocentrus
nattereri (Amazonian and Paraguay-Argentina).
-
Pygopristis
denticulata (Venezuela and Brazil).
-
Pygocentrus
cariba
-
Serrasalmus
brandtii
-
Serrasalmus
rhombeus
-
Serrasalmus
maculatus
-
Serrasalmus
geryi
-
Serrasalmus
sanchezi
-
Serrasalmus
irritans
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Serrasalmus
altuvei
-
Serrasalmus
compressus
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Serrasalmus
eigenmanni
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Serrasalmus
serrulatus
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Serrasalmus
spilopleura
-
Serrasalmus
gibbus (Araguaia)
-
Serrasalmus sp.
CF compressus
Frank also continues
to donate dead specimens to Oregon State University (Corvallis, Oregon)
to enable students to view many of these species of piranhas that are
not normally seen in the hobby for their studies.
Frank
Magallanes providing a lecture about piranhas at a local
area school. Give a child something to hold on to and their lives
will be changed forever! |
Frank
in front of an aquarium full of piranhas! Nothing has changed in
over 40 years!!! |
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