Vandellia cirrhosa, AKA Candiru
Image:
http://www.k-state.edu/parasitology/625tutorials/Candiru.html
(Description is from http://www.sciencenet.org.uk/database/Biology/0003/b00768d.html (Link is no longer active.)
I have heard about a tropical fish which can
detect traces of mammalian urine in the water and will enter the urinary tract
of the mammal. Is this true? What is it's taxonomy etc.?
The fish you are referring to is the Vandellia cirrhosa, common name candiru,
a member of the family Trichomycteridae the pencil or parasitic catfishes.
Vandellia is about an inch (2.5 cm) in length
and when it has not fed is slender and almost transparent (except for the
eyes). It lives in the rivers of tropical South America.This small catfish is a
vampire - it feeds on the blood of other fish.
It has been described as entering the gill
chambers of larger fish to suck blood from their gills. Once in the gill
chamber it anchors itself there, so as not to be flushed out as the fish pumps
water over its gills, with spines on its gill covers. As it feeds the body
becomes engorged and distended with blood. Once it has fed the candiru swims
out of the gill chamber and burrows into the river-bed to digest its blood
meal.
You are correct in believing that the candiru
poses a hazard to humans (and other mammals that might urinate in the water).
It seems attracted to the flow of urine (possibly as it resembles the stream of
water from the gills of a large fish). The candiru may swim up the stream of
urine and enter the urethra of a bather urinating into the river.
This, of course, not part of the fish's
normal feeding behaviour - the fish has made a fatal mistake. Once up the
urethra the fish can not turn nor can it move backwards because of the
rear-pointing spines on its gill covers. It is locked in. The fish invariably
dies and the dead fish and associated swelling of the lining of the urethra
cause the urethra to become blocked. Surgery is required to remove the
obstruction.
Some recent expeditions to the Amazon region
have had their personnel wear cricket box type shields to protect against
candiru whilst swimming in or wading through streams. Authorities in the
|
MAN,
one of these things inside your urethra could REALLY spoil your day, y'know??
|
|
|
|
P.S. I don't care HOW FULL your
bladder is, do not EVER, EVER pee into the
Candirú
|
|
<BR|
|
<BRThis is a catfish, Vandellia cirrhosa, which is found in
the Amazon. It can enter the urinary tract of human beings and suck blood. This
is said to be immensely painful. If you swim naked and urinate in the water the
candirú can find its way in.
The fish is transparent, and virtually invisible in the water. It is not rare,
although attacks on humans are. There is only one recent report of a man being
invaded by a candirú, published in Portugese: Anuar Samad: Incrível causa de Uretrorragia! Arquivos Ellis 2004
1:2; 13. Normally these fish survive by sucking blood from the gills
of larger fisher. Their fame can be attributed to the fact that they are what
the media call "sexy news".
When swinning in the Essequibo river I was careful to always use a swimming
suit, in fear of candirú. I also did not want one of the many piranhas found
there to take a chunk out of me.
When the candiru strikes, you’ll know
it…
