Candiru

The candirú or canero (Vandellia cirrhosa) is a freshwater fish in the group commonly called the catfishes. It is found in the Amazon River and has a reputation among the natives as the most feared fish in its waters, even over the piranha. The species grows only to a size of an inch in length and is eel shaped and translucent, making it almost impossible to see in the water. The candiru is a parasite. It swims into the gill cavities of other fishes, erects a spine to hold itself in place, and feeds on the blood in the gills, earning it a nickname as the "vampire fish of Brazil".

It is feared by the natives because it is attracted to urine or blood, and if the bather is nude it will swim into an orifice (the anus or vagina or even - in the case of the smaller specimens – the ***** and deeper through the urethra). It then erects its spine and begins to feed on the blood and body tissue just as it would from the gills of a fish. The candiru is then almost impossible to remove except through an operation, usually involving the amputation of the area. A more expensive option is the use of two plants, the Xagua plant and the Buitach apple which are inserted (or their extract in the case of tight spaces) into the affected area. These two plants together will kill and then dissolve the fish. More often, the pain causes shock and death in the victim before it can be removed.

 

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0==WW==0
"…axles of evil…" - george w. bush

 

OUCH...................

 

So wrong.......

 

yeah i've heard old horror stories from 7th SFG and a few sister units about these things during real world and training missions. They're no joke there's also giant catfish that hug the bottom of the floor so close that you can mistake them for soil... kinda scares the crap out of you when you start to move away in the water (they're harmless).

There's also a parasite that grows on the barks of certain trees that can ruin your weekend if you touch it.

 

And I thought camel spiders and scorpions sucked

 

this was the fish that rosario dawson's character in The Rundown was telling them about right?

 

wrexxy..that is exactly what I was gonna say. I just watched that.


"not in this boy's pintu"

 

yup

 

Damn, talk about **** rapage...

 

Dang. I hear leaches do this too, but they usually get "passed" on their own...

 

yeah i saw a thing about these on discovery channel, this is one of those animals we need to kill off. why cant humans kill all of these instead of those awsome do-do bird things! those were awsome!