Candiru (fish)

For Candiru-açu (Cetopsis candiru), see Cetopsis candiru.

Candiru
A candiru after a full meal of blood
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Siluriformes
Family: Trichomycteridae
Genus: Vandellia
Species:
V. cirrhosa
Binomial name
Vandellia cirrhosa

Candiru (Vandellia cirrhosa), also known as cañero, toothpick fish, or vampire fish, is a species of parasitic freshwater catfish in the family Trichomycteridae native to the Amazon basin where it is found in the countries of Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.

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.[1][2][3][4]

Although some candiru species have been known to grow to a size of 40 centimetres (16 in) in length, others are considerably smaller. These smaller species are known for an alleged tendency to invade and parasitise the human urethra and other bodily openings; however, despite ethnological reports dating back to the late 19th century,[5] the first documented case of the removal of a candiru from a human urethra did not occur until 1997, and even that incident has remained a matter of controversy.

  1. ^ Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2007). "Vandellia cirrhosa" in FishBase. July 2007 version.
  2. ^ Breault, J.L. (1991). "Candiru: Amazonian parasitic catfish". Journal of Wilderness Medicine. 2 (4): 304–312. doi:10.1580/0953-9859-2.4.304. Archived from the original on 2007-08-12.
  3. ^ de Carvalho, Marcelo R. (2003). "Analyse D'Ouvrage" (PDF). Cybium. 27 (2): 82. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-02-07. Retrieved 2009-06-22.
  4. ^ 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:10.1643/0045-8511(2006)6[198:TGHSTW]2.0.CO;2. S2CID 84355922.
  5. ^ Ricciuti, Edward R.; Bird, Jonathan (2003). Killers of the Seas: The Dangerous Creatures That Threaten Man in an Alien Environment. The Lyons Press. ISBN 978-1-58574-869-3.