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The '''candiru''', or toothpick fish, ''Vandellia cirrhosa'' is a tiny [[parasite|parasitic]] catfish of tropical [[South America]].

The '''candiru''', or toothpick fish, ''Vandellia cirrhosa'' is a tiny [[parasite|parasitic]] catfish of tropical [[South America]].

Although it is only a tiny, translucent [[eel]]-like creature no more than six inches long at most, the candiru is widely feared, perhaps even more so than the [[piranha]], for its habit of entering the human [[urethra]], which it is popularly believed to locate by following a scent trail. Erectile spines on its head, used to attach to the fish it feeds upon,  make it almost impossible to extract without surgery; given the paucity of medical facilities in the [[Amazon River|Amazon]] region, most persons so afflicted die in horrific agony.

Although it is only a tiny, translucent [[eel]]-like creature no more than six inches long at most, the candiru is widely feared, perhaps even more so than the [[piranha]], for its habit of entering the human [[urethra]], which it is popularly believed to locate by following a scent trail. Erectile spines on its head, used to attach to the fish it feeds upon,  make it almost impossible to extract without surgery; given the paucity of medical facilities in the [[Amazon River|Amazon]] region, most persons so afflicted die in horrific agony.

Stories about the candiru swimming up a stream of urine were thought to be false, until one recent well-documented case.<ref> http://www.straightdope.com/columns/010907.html</ref>

Stories about the candiru swimming up a stream of urine were thought to be false, until one recent well-documented case.<ref>http://www.straightdope.com/columns/010907.html</ref>

 

<ref>http://www.angelfire.com/biz/piranha038/candiru.html</ref>

[http://www.angelfire.com/biz/piranha038/candiru.html The candiru, and accounts of the extraction procedure]

==References==

==References==