Urban Non-Legend: The Candirú
June 27th, 2007 by timbotronIf you find yourself swimming in the Amazon River, wearing loose shorts (or naked), and urinating in the water - you may be in grave danger. A candirú just might swim into your urethra and lodge itself there. Long considered a myth or “bush legend,” this fear has recently (and unfortunately) come to light as true. The name “candirú” actually refers to several species in the Trichomycteridae family and the Vandelliinae subfamily - they are tiny, parasitic, transparent catfish that subsist upon the blood of larger fish. Most of these species lodge themselves among the gills of larger fish (they have sets of backward-facing spines around their head) and live on the blood of their unfortunate hosts. Accounts* also note that some candirú species lodge themselves in the anuses of larger (and terribly unfortunate) fish. Perhaps as a case of mistaken identity, they seem to be attracted to human urine (which perhaps has a chemical signature similar to fish excreta or gill respiration) and will advance to the source, and at times lodge themselves in that source. A 1997 incident of a young man (23 yrs old) near Manaus, Brazil who had a candirú removed from his manhood is one of the first extensively and scientifically documented cases (gnarly web archive photos of the procedure here). The dead specimen (a species of Plectrochilus), which was removed with some difficulty, measured 133.5mm long and 11.5mm at the widest part of its head. The man and his equipment survived intact. A fish this size seemed to have little difficulty working its entire body into the urethra of the poor man. To offer a sense of scale, here is an illustration of a Trichomycterid candirú with an American quarter (specimen illustration redrawn from Spotte).
*The definitive work on this subject is marine scientist Stephen Spotte’s “Candiru: Life and Legend of the Bloodsucking Catfishes.” Spotte has left no stone unturned in this extensive collection of candirú accounts and current research. I got it for Christmas, an awesome read.
June 27th, 2007 at 3:52 am
Let me be the first (or perhaps the second, after the man from Manaus, Brazil) to say, “OWWWW!!!”
The Amazon River is home to a number of crazy creatures like this one. When I went to Perú in 2001, we were informed of mosquito-like bugs that would burrow into your skin and lay eggs inside of you (which would later ‘hatch’ through your skin), and all sorts of other crazy parasites. It definitely gets the blood pumping.
June 27th, 2007 at 9:11 pm
So you men don’t like things swimming up your genitals huh? (sorry, it was so easy)
June 28th, 2007 at 7:35 am
Woman with implants, smiling burro, or “O Candirú” . . . y’all drop some serious knowledge up in this.
Now I know why speedos are considered appropriate attire for men in Europe and Latin America.
Makes me think twice about jumping into the Baltic Sea after sauna.