Candiru
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2008-07-10T21:35:18Z
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robot Adding: [[hu:Kandiru]]
{{Taxobox
| name = ''Candiru''
| status = secure
| image = Candiru.png
| image_width = 250px
| image_caption = ''[[Vandellia|Vandellia cirrhosa]]''
| regnum = [[Animal]]ia
| phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]]
| classis = [[Actinopterygii]]
| ordo = [[Siluriformes]]
| superfamilia = [[Loricarioidea]]
| familia = '''Trichomycteridae'''
| familia_authority = [[Pieter Bleeker|Bleeker]], 1858
| subdivision_ranks = [[Genus|Genera]]<ref>{{ITIS|ID=164269|taxon=Trichomycteridae|year=2007|date=July 12}}</ref>
}}'''Candiru''' or '''candirú''' (also '''canero''' or '''toothpick fish''') refers to [[parasite|parasitic]] [[fresh water|freshwater]] [[catfish]] of a number of genera in the [[family (biology)|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 the [[piranha]].<ref name="Axelrod">{{cite book|title=Exotic Tropical Fishes|last=Axelrod|first=Herbert R.|authorlink=Herbert R. Axelrod|coauthors=Emmens, C.; Burgess, W.;Pronek, N.|publisher=T.F.H. Publications|year=1996|isbn=0-87666-543-1}}</ref> They are [[eel]]-shaped and [[translucency|translucent]], making them almost impossible to see in the water. Some species have been known to grow to a size of 6 [[inch]]es (~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]].<ref name=Vcirrhosa>{{FishBase species|genus=Vandellia|species=cirrhosa|year=2007|month=July}}</ref><ref name="Breault">{{cite journal|url=http://www.wemjournal.org/wmsonline/?request=get-abstract&issn=0953-9859&volume=002&issue=04&page=0304|title=Candirú: Amaconian parasitic catfish|first=J.L.|last=Breault|journal=Journal of Wilderness Medicine|volume=2|issue=4|pages=304–312}}</ref><ref name="Carvalho">{{cite journal|url=http://www.mnhn.fr/sfi/cybium/numeros/pdf/272pdf/01.analysecarvalho.pdf|title=Analyse D’Ouvrage|first=Marcelo R.|last=de Carvalho|journal=Cybium|year=2003|volume=27|issue=2|pages=82|format=[[PDF]]}}</ref><ref name="DoNascimiento">{{cite journal|title=The Genus ''Henonemus'' (Siluriformes: Trichomycteridae) with a Description of a New Species from Venezuela|first=Carlos|last=DoNascimiento|coauthors=Provenzano, Francisco|journal=[[Copeia]]|year=2006|issue=2|pages=198–205|doi=10.1643/0045-8511(2006)6[198:TGHSTW]2.0.CO;2|volume=2006}}</ref>
==Parasitism==
Candiru are [[parasite]]s. 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]].<ref name="Schaefer">{{cite journal|url=http://digitallibrary.amnh.org/dspace/bitstream/2246/5665/1/N3496.pdf|title=New and Noteworthy Venezuelan Glanapterygine Catfishes (Siluriformes, Trichomycteridae), with Discussion of Their Biogeography and Psammophily|first=Scott A.|last=Schaefer|coauthors=Provenzano, Francisco; de Pinna, Mario; Baskin, Jonathan N.|journal=American Museum Novitates|issue=3496|pages=1–27|date=2005-11-29|format=[[PDF]]|doi=10.1206/0003-0082(2005)496[0001:NANVGC]2.0.CO;2|year=2005|volume=496}}</ref>
This fish is feared to attack humans and animals and swim into an orifice (the [[vagina]], [[anus]], or even the [[penis]]—and deep into the [[urethra]]).<ref name="Carvalho"/> Because of spines protruding from the fish, it is almost impossible to remove except through surgery.<ref>{{cite book|last=DiClaudio|first=Dennis| title = The Hypochondriac's Pocket Guide to Horrible Diseases You Probably Already Have|url=http://www.powells.com/biblio/61-1596910615-0|publisher=[[Bloomsbury Publishing]]|year=2006|isbn=9781596910614 }}</ref> The fish locates its host by following a water flow to its source and thus [[Urination|urinating]] while bathing increases the chance of a candiru homing in on a human urethra. Natives have also been known to bathe facing the current, as doing so would decrease the chances of the organism lodging itself in the rectum.{{Fact|date=May 2007}} Other orifices such as the penis or vagina are covered up with the use of hands.
Though there have been documented candiru attacks on humans,<ref name=cecil>{{cite web |url= http://www.straightdope.com/columns/010907.html |title=Can the candirú fish swim upstream into your urethra (revisited)? |work=The Straight Dope |date=[[07-September]] [[2001]]}}</ref> there is no evidence the fish can survive once inside a human. A traditional cure involves the use of two plants, the Jagua plant (''[[Genipa americana]]'') and the [[Buitach]] apple which are inserted (or their extract in the case of tight spaces) into the affected area. In theory, these two plants together will kill and then dissolve the fish. More often, infection causes shock and death in the victim before the candiru can be removed.
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. This is physically impossible as the maximum swimming velocity of the fish is opposed by the downward velocity of the urine stream, and the further impossible act of the 5–14 mm wide fish maintaining position ''and'' [[thrust]] within a 2–7 mm wide column of fluid. They are also probably not attracted to urine as commonly thought.<ref name="Carvalho"/> However they are capable of jumping and entering the urethra of a man standing thigh-deep in the water and urinating. They are also probably only able to enter a human urethra when it is expanded during urination.<ref name=cecil />
==Popular culture==
*The candiru has been featured on the television shows ''[[Grey's Anatomy]]'' (where it was called the "penis fish"),<ref>{{cite web
| url = http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20037051,00.html
| title = A Perfect Day for Penisfish
| accessdate = 2007-05-17
| last = Kirschling
| first = Gregory
| date = 2007-04-27
| publisher = [[Entertainment Weekly]]
}}</ref> ''[[Are You There, God? It's Me, Dean|The Venture Bros.]]'', ''[[Metalocalypse]]'', ''[[House (TV series)|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 (naturalist)|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 the films ''[[Anaconda (film)|Anaconda]]'', ''[[The Rundown]]'', ''[[Medicine Man (film)|Medicine Man]]'', ''[[Sniper (film)|Sniper]]'' and the [[RiffTrax]] version of ''[[Predator (film)|Predator]]''
*It is also mentioned in the books ''All the Trouble in the World'' by [[P. J. O'Rourke]], ''In Trouble Again'' by [[Redmond O'Hanlon]], ''Amazonia'' by [[James Rollins]], ''[[The Codex (novel)|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 (novel)|Peeps]]'' by [[Scott Westerfeld]], and is misrepresented in [[Ted Bell]]'s novel ''[[Spy (novel)|Spy]]'' as swimming up the urine stream of someone standing knee-deep in water, then living inside the person.
*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.
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*[http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9019956/candiru Britannica Online Encyclopedia article on Candiru]
*[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 Article on removal of Candiru from a male patient with pictures].
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eSLKZzuLC00 Youtube Video of Animal Planet documentary detailing infestation by and surgical removal of Candiru from penis.]
*[http://www.geologicrecords.net/geoVitriol.asp George Hrab's album ''Vitriol'', containing the song ''Cruel Spines'' (mp3 available)]
*[http://www.somednat.org/site/spip.php?article55 The Candiru, cat fish Brazil vampire myth or reality]
[[Category:Trichomycteridae]]
[[Category:Parasites]]
[[cs:Vandélie obecná]]
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[[es:Vandellia cirrhosa]]
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[[id:Candirú]]
[[it:Vandellia cirrhosa]]
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[[hu:Kandiru]]
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[[pl:Kandyra]]
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[[ru:Кандиру]]
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