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Candiru
Vandellia cirrhosa
Conservation status
Secure
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Actinopterygii Order: Siluriformes Superfamily: Loricarioidea Family: Trichomycteridae Bleeker, 1858

‎ Image File history File links Wikitext. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Type species Vandellia cirrhosa Valenciennes, 1846 Binomial name Vandellia beccarii Di Caporiacco, 1935 Vandellia cirrhosa Valenciennes, 1846 Vandellia sanguinea Eigenmann, 1918 Synonyms Urinophilus Eigenmann, 1918 Vandellia is a genus of catfishes (order Siluriformes) of the family Trichomycteridae. ... The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species continuing to survive either in the present day or the future. ... For other uses, see Scientific classification (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Animal (disambiguation). ... Typical Classes See below Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates. ... Orders See text The Actinopterygii are the ray-finned fish. ... Families Akysidae Amblycipitidae Amphiliidae Ariidae Aspredinidae Astroblepidae Auchenipteridae Bagridae Callichthyidae Cetopsidae Chacidae Clariidae Claroteidae Cranoglanididae Diplomystidae Doradidae Hypophthalmidae Ictaluridae Loricariidae Malapteruridae Mochokidae Nematogenyidae Pangasiidae Parakysidae Pimelodidae Plotosidae Schilbeidae Scoloplacidae Siluridae Sisoridae Trichomycteridae Catfish (order Siluriformes) are a diverse group of fish. ... Families Amphiliidae Astroblepidae Callichthyidae Loricariidae Scoloplacidae Trichomycteridae Loricarioidea is a superfamily of catfish (order Siluriformes). ... Pieter Bleeker (1819 - 1878) was a Dutch medical doctor and ichthyologist, famous for his work on the fishes of East Asia. ...

Candiru (pronounced can-dee-roo; also canero, toothpick fish, or willy fish) refers to 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 the piranha.^[2] 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. A parasite is an organism that spends a significant portion of its life in or on the living tissue of a host organism and which causes harm to the host without immediately killing it. ... For the village on the Isle of Wight, see Freshwater, Isle of Wight. ... This article is about the siluriform catfishes; for the Atlantic catfish, see Seawolf (fish); for other uses, see Catfish (disambiguation). ... The hierarchy of scientific classification In biological classification, family (Latin: familia, plural familiae) is a rank, or a taxon in that rank. ... Genera (examples) Bullockia Eremophilus Henonemus Ituglanis Listrura Miuroglanis Pareiodon Parasteglophilus Paravandellia Plectrochilus Stauroglanis Sylvinichthys Trichogenes Trichomycterus Vandellia Pencil or parasitic catfishes are small fishes of the family Trichomycteridae (order Siluriformes), comprising about 42 genera and 178 species. ... This article is about the river. ... For other uses, see Piranha (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Eel (disambiguation). ... In optics, transparency is the property of being transparent, or allowing light to pass. ... An inch (plural: inches; symbol or abbreviation: in or, sometimes, ″ - a double prime) is the name of a unit of length in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ...

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.^[3][4][5][6] Type species Vandellia cirrhosa Valenciennes, 1846 Binomial name Vandellia beccarii Di Caporiacco, 1935 Vandellia cirrhosa Valenciennes, 1846 Vandellia sanguinea Eigenmann, 1918 Synonyms Urinophilus Eigenmann, 1918 Vandellia is a genus of catfishes (order Siluriformes) of the family Trichomycteridae. ... Type genus Vandellia Valenciennes, 1846 Genera Paracanthopoma Paravandellia Plectrochilus Vandellia Vandelliinae is a subfamily of catfishes (order Siluriformes) of the family Trichomycteridae. ... Type genus Stegophilus Reinhardt, 1859 Genera[1] Acanthopoma Apomatoceros Haemomaster Henonemus Homodiaetus Megalocentor Ochmacanthus Parastegophilus Pareiodon Pseudostegophilus Schultzichthys Stegophilus Stegophilinae is a subfamily of catfishes (order Siluriformes) of the family Trichomycteridae. ...

Parasitism

While the members of the subfamily Vandelliinae feed on blood, members of Stegophilinae may feed on scales, mucus, or carrion.^[7]

This fish is feared to attack humans and swim into an orifice (the vagina, anus, or even the penis—and deep into the urethra).^[5] Because of spines protruding from the fish, it is almost impossible to remove except through surgery.^[8] The fish locates its host by following a water flow to its source and thus 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.^{[citation needed]} Other orifices such as the penis or vagina are covered up with the use of hands. The vagina, (from Latin, literally sheath or scabbard ) is the tubular tract leading from the uterus to the exterior of the body in female placental mammals and marsupials, or to the cloaca in female birds, monotremes, and some reptiles. ... This article is about the bodily orifice. ... The penis (plural penises, penes) is an external male sexual organ. ... In anatomy, the urethra is a tube which connects the urinary bladder to the outside of the body. ... Manneken Pis of Brussels. ...

Though there have been documented candiru attacks on humans, 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. Binomial name Genipa americana L. Genipa americana (Huito or Jagua) is a species of Genipa, native to northern South America (south to Peru), the Caribbean and southern Mexico, growing in rainforests. ...

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 possible despite the maximum swimming velocity of the fish being opposed by the downward velocity of the urine stream, and the further act of the 5-14 mm wide fish maintaining position and thrust within a 2–7 mm wide column of fluid. ^[5] Thrust is a reaction force described quantitatively by Newtons Second and Third Laws. ...

Popular culture

• The candiru has been featured on the television shows Grey's Anatomy (where it was called the "penis fish"),^[9] The Venture Bros., 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.
• 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 In Trouble Again by Redmond O'Hanlon, Amazonia by James Rollins, The Codex by Douglas Preston, Born Survivor by Bear Grylls, 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. 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.
• The candiru was featured in a recent episode of Weird Nature, which runs on The Science Channel.
• In episode 4 of Telltale Games' 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.

This article is about the television series. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Law & Order: Special Victims Unit - Season 5 DVD Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (also known as Law & Order: SVU) is the first of three spin-offs of Law & Order (the other two being Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Law & Order: Trial by Jury; all series are presented on the NBC... Dr. Mehmet Oz (born June 11, 1960) is an American cardiothoracic surgeon and author. ... The Oprah Winfrey Show (also known as Oprah) is an American nationally syndicated talk show, hosted and produced by Oprah Winfrey and is the highest-rated talk show in American television history. ... Anaconda (1997) is a thriller film. ... The Rundown (also known as Welcome to the Jungle) is an action film starring The Rock and Seann William Scott about a bounty hunter/enforcer/aspiring chef named Beck who must head for the Amazon Rainforest to capture someone. ... Medicine Man is an American film, released in 1992 and directed by John McTiernan. ... Sniper is a 1993 action film starring Tom Berenger and Billy Zane as American military snipers on an assassination mission in Panama. ... RiffTrax main page, March 1, 2007. ... Predator is a 1987 science fiction, action and horror film directed by John McTiernan and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers and Jesse Ventura. ... Redmond OHanlon (born 1947) is a British author. ... Under the pen name James Rollins, former veterinarian Dr. Jim Czajkowski (1961 - ) writes such bestselling, action-packed adventure-thrillers as Subterranean (1999), Excavation (2000), Deep Fathom (2001), Amazonia (2002), Ice Hunt (2003), Sandstorm (2004), and Map of Bones Rollins is an amateur spelunker and a certified scuba diver. ... The Codex is a 2004 novel by Douglas Preston and takes place in the Southwest United States. ... Douglas Preston (born 1956 in Cambridge, Massachusetts) is an author of several techno-thriller and horror novels with Lincoln Child. ... Edward Michael Bear Grylls (born 7 June 1974), known as Bear Grylls, is a British mountaineer, adventurer, author, television presenter, and motivational speaker. ... Naked Lunch is a novel by William S. Burroughs. ... Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: William S. Burroughs William Seward Burroughs II (February 5, 1914) — August 2, 1997; pronounced ), more commonly known as William S. Burroughs, was an American novelist, essayist, social critic, painter and spoken word performer. ... Simon Winchester, OBE (born September 28, 1944), is a British author and journalist. ... A History of the World in 10½ Chapters is a semi-fictional literary work by Julian Barnes. ... Barnes as Francophile and Francophone in Bernard Pivots Double je (France 2, March 2005) Julian Patrick Barnes (born January 19, 1946 in Leicester) is a contemporary English writer whose novels and short stories have been seen as examples of postmodernism in literature. ... For other uses, see Peeps (Disambiguation). ... Scott Westerfeld (born May 5, 1963) is a New York Times bestselling author of science fiction and young adult literature. ... Ted Bell is a New York Times bestselling author of books such as Hawke and Assassin. ... The Science Channel is a television channel spin-off from the Discovery Channel, which features only science-related television shows. ... This page is for Telltales episodic Sam & Max games. ...

References

The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) is a partnership designed to provide consistent and reliable information on the taxonomy of biological species. ... is the 193rd day of the year (194th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... Herbert Richard Axelrod (b. ... FishBase is a comprehensive database of information about fish. ... PDF is an abbreviation with several meanings: Portable Document Format Post-doctoral fellowship Probability density function There also is an electronic design automation company named PDF Solutions. ... Copeia is a quarterly published periodical pertaining to ichthyological and herpetological subjects. ... PDF is an abbreviation with several meanings: Portable Document Format Post-doctoral fellowship Probability density function There also is an electronic design automation company named PDF Solutions. ... Bloomsbury Publishing Plc is an independent, London-based publishing house known for literary novels. ... Entertainment Weekly (sometimes abbreviated EW) is a magazine published by Time Inc. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 137th day of the year (138th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Britannica Online Encyclopedia article on Candiru
• "Straight Dope" article on candiru
• Article on removal of Candiru from a male patient with pictures.
• Youtube Video of Animal Planet documentary detailing infestation by and surgical removal of Candiru from penis.
• George Hrab's album Vitriol, containing the song Cruel Spines (mp3 available)
• Taking on the Amazon: swimmer's Diary. Martin Strel on the BBC's website
• The Candiru, cat fish Brazil vampire myth or reality