Candiru
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Candiru (English and Portuguese) or candirú (Spanish), also known as canero or toothpick fish, are parasitic freshwater catfish of a number of genera in the family Trichomycteridae. They are found in the Amazon River and have a reputation among the natives as the most feared fish in its waters, even over piranha.[1] They are eel-shaped and translucent, making them almost impossible to see in the water. Some species have been known to grow to a size of 6 inches (~15 cm) in length.
The definition of candiru differs between authors. The word has been used to refer to only Vandellia cirrhosa, the entire genus Vandellia, the subfamily Vandelliinae, or even the two subfamilies Vandelliinae and Stegophilinae.[2][3][4][5]
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[edit] Physical description
Candirus are small fish. Adults can grow to around 15 cm with a rather small head and a belly that can appear distended, especially after a large blood meal. The body is translucent making it quite difficult to spot in the turbid waters of its home. There are short, sensory barbels around the head, together with short, backward pointing spines on the gill covers.[6]
[edit] Location and habitat
The area most populated by this fish is at the junction of the Amazon River and the Rio Negro, near Brazil's inland city of Manaus. Here they thrive as the low pH, brown, largely organic-material based Amazon river churns with the conversely high pH (basic), oligotrophic (with very low nutrient content, i.e., organic material), tannin-saturated flows of the Rio Negro. This mixing point provides a rich diversity of sustained fauna.
[edit] Parasitism
Candiru are parasites. Their ability to detect respiratory currents in the water allows them to swim into the gill openings of other aquatic species, where they feed on their prey's blood.
While the members of the subfamily Vandelliinae feed on blood, members of Stegophilinae may feed on scales, mucus, or carrion.[7]
The Candirú lies in wait at the river's murky bottom, searching for its next host by sampling/sniffing the water for expelled chemicals, such as urea and ammonia from the gills of other fish. Once having detected a fish in the vicinity, with a burst of speed the Candirú darts towards the gill cavity and lodges itself in place with its spines. Then, with usually fatal consequences for its victim, the Candirú begins to gnaw a hole towards a major blood vessel and gorges itself for no more than a few minutes. It will then dislodge itself and sink back to the river bed in order to digest its food and wait for its next meal.
[edit] Alleged attacks on people
Although lurid anecdotes of attacks of humans abound (see Popular Culture section below), there is only one documented case of a candiru attack on a human.[8]A well-circulated myth is that the candiru is capable of swimming up the stream of urine in mid-air to a victim standing on shore or a boat. Nonetheless, there was a case in which the victim claimed that the fish jumped while he was urinating thigh deep.[9] They are also probably not attracted to pure urine.[4] It is believed that they are able to enter a human urethra only when it is expanded during urination.[9]
A traditional "cure" involves the use of two plants, the jagua or jenipapo plant (Genipa americana) and the Buitach apple which are inserted (or their extract in the case of tight spaces) into the affected area. It is thought that these two plants together will kill and then dislodge the fish.[10]
[edit] Popular culture
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Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (March 2009) |
- The candiru has been featured on the television shows Grey's Anatomy (where it was called the "penis fish"),[11] The Venture Bros., Metalocalypse, House, and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Dr. Oz discussed the candiru on The Oprah Winfrey Show on May 21, 2007. It was sought after in Nick Baker's Weird Creatures, a British TV series about the world's strangest animals, and featured in an episode of Weird Nature, which runs on The Science Channel. It has also been mentioned in a Ray Mears' television series whilst discussing the perils of the South American rainforest.
- It has also been mentioned in the films Anaconda, The Rundown, Medicine Man, Sniper and the RiffTrax version of Predator.
- It is also mentioned in the books All the Trouble in the World by P. J. O'Rourke, The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann, In Trouble Again by Redmond O'Hanlon, Amazonia by James Rollins, Paradise With Serpents by Robert Carver, The Codex by Douglas Preston, Born Survivor by Bear Grylls, “Whirlwind”, by David Klass, Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs, The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester,and is referred to in A History of the World in 10½ Chapters by Julian Barnes, The Burglar In The Rye by Lawrence Block, and The River of Doubt by Candice Millard (Doubleday 2005), about the 1913-14 Roosevelt-Rondon Scientific Expedition along the River of Doubt. It is mentioned in the afterword to Peeps by Scott Westerfeld, and is misrepresented in Ted Bell's novel Spy as swimming up the urine stream of someone standing knee-deep in water, then living inside the person.
- There is an entire chapter devoted to the candiru in the book “Dark Banquet: Blood and the Curious Lives of Blood-Feeding Creatures” by Bill Schutt (Harmony, 2008). In addition to a detailed account of candiru biology, the chapter (entitled “Candiru — with a Capital C and that Rhymes with P”) contains a conversation between Schutt and candiru expert Stephen Spotte. They discuss the only verified instance of a candiru becoming lodged in a human penis, as well as various hypotheses as to why this might have happened.
- In episode 4 of the game Sam & Max Season One, Max offers a joke to the audience that involves Chester A. Arthur, the Pope, and their encounter with a candiru along the Amazon.
- Candiria, the Brooklyn, New York "urban fusion" band claims to have made up their name before knowing that "candiria" was supposedly the plural form of candiru; however, this is incorrect anyway. The name of the fish comes from the now extinct Old Tupi language, from where it passed on to Portuguese and later to other languages; in Portuguese, the plural form is simply candirus.[12]
- A graphic scene in the book Conrad's Quest for Rubber by Leo Frankowski describes a candiru being removed from a human victim using primitive surgery.
- American musician Brian Petronaci used the name of this fish as the moniker for his one man death metal band.
- Marconi-winning AM radio broadcaster Craig "Junior" Miller mentioned the "Penis Fish" on KTCK-AM, Sports Radio 1310, The Ticket. The discussion was highlighted during the award-winning Emergency Brake segment on Friday, April 3, 2009.
[edit] References
- ^ Axelrod, Herbert R.; Emmens, C.; Burgess, W.;Pronek, N. (1996). Exotic Tropical Fishes. T.F.H. Publications. ISBN 0-87666-543-1.
- ^ "Vandellia cirrhosa". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. July 2007 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2007.
- ^ Breault, J.L.. "Candiru: Amazonian parasitic catfish". Journal of Wilderness Medicine 2 (4): 304–312. http://www.wemjournal.org/wmsonline/?request=get-abstract&issn=0953-9859&volume=002&issue=04&page=0304.
- ^ a b de Carvalho, Marcelo R. (2003). "Analyse D’Ouvrage" (PDF). Cybium 27 (2): 82. http://www.mnhn.fr/sfi/cybium/numeros/pdf/272pdf/01.analysecarvalho.pdf.
- ^ DoNascimiento, Carlos; Provenzano, Francisco (2006). "The Genus Henonemus (Siluriformes: Trichomycteridae) with a Description of a New Species from Venezuela". Copeia 2006 (2): 198–205. doi:.
- ^ Piper, Ross (2007), Extraordinary Animals: An Encyclopedia of Curious and Unusual Animals, Greenwood Press.
- ^ Schaefer, Scott A.; Provenzano, Francisco; de Pinna, Mario; Baskin, Jonathan N. (2005-11-29). "New and Noteworthy Venezuelan Glanapterygine Catfishes (Siluriformes, Trichomycteridae), with Discussion of Their Biogeography and Psammophily" (PDF). American Museum Novitates 496 (3496): 1–27. doi:. http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/dspace/bitstream/2246/5665/1/N3496.pdf.
- ^ "this was the only documented evidence of an accident involving humans." Anoar Samad, "Candiru inside the urethra" http://google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fweb.archive.org%2Fweb%2F20040616043555%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.internext.com.br%2Furologia%2FCasosclinicos.htm&langpair=pt%7Cen&hl=en&ie=UTF8
- ^ a b "Can the candiru fish swim upstream into your urethra (revisited)?". The Straight Dope. 07-September 2001. http://www.straightdope.com/columns/010907.html.
- ^ "Can the candiru fish swim upstream into your urethra?". The Straight Dope. 19-May 2000. http://www.straightdope.com/columns/000519.html.
- ^ Kirschling, Gregory (2007-04-27). "A Perfect Day for Penisfish". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20037051,00.html. Retrieved on 2007-05-17.
- ^ Dicionário Houaiss da Língua Portuguesa. Rio de Janeiro: Editora Objetiva. 2007. ISBN 857302383X.
