The truth about rumored fish likes to enter the human genitals

The small candiru of the Amazon attracted the attention of science from the early 19th century with the legend of getting into human genitals and sucking blood like vampires.

According to BBC, Candiru , scientific name Vandellia Cirrhosa , belongs to the family of freshwater catfish , has almost transparent body about 5 cm long, often clinging to larger fish to suck blood. With its small size, candiru is in the middle of the vastness of the Amazon and the huge number of creatures residing here. However, scary rumors about the habit of getting into the genitals and sucking blood, which can kill people make them the focus of attention.

"The Amazon region for hundreds of years has popularized the candiru story in the men and women bathing in the river, especially when they urinate in the water," Eugene Willis started in a synthesis of notes about candiru from 1829 published in the American Journal of Surgery in 1930.

Typical records describe candiru being a "very small but capable demon" creature that prevailed in the nineteenth century, when adventurers inadvertently heard Aboriginal people talking about fish that could attack them regardless doubt and pain.

In response, the Aboriginal people have to make complex tools from coconut shells and palm leaves to protect the genitalia. George Albert Boulenger, from the British Museum, said the Amazon Aboriginal people also designed the system to bring river water to the edge of the bathing and washing so as not to step into the water.

Candiru fish (Vendellia cirhosa), vampire fish in the scary Amazon story.(Photo: Museum of Natural History)

Candiru's attack goal in recording is almost a penis, since the explorers and authors were all male. However, they note that candiru does not discriminate sex , they can attack both the female or anal genital area. Candiru is so dangerous that it can launch urine back into the target.

To remove candiru from the body, the victim can soak in hot water or use a special herbal tea. However, the best but most horrible way is to remove the genitals.

"This is the only way to prevent candiru from swimming to the bladder to cause inflammation and eventually death , " Boulenger said. "In Dr. Tres Unidos village, Dr. Bach, a colleague of mine, surveyed a man and three boys who were thought to have lost their penis after the candiru incident."

Although the victims described in great detail the wounds, no one really saw candiru attacking him, Boulenger said. Similarly, there are dozens of reports related to candiru from the early 19th century to the early 20th century but specific evidence is still missing.

Scientific analysis

According to a study by American scientists, candiru is likely to suffer a reputation for incidents that are not perpetrators.

Entering the human area means that death will definitely give candiru. The chance of surviving for candiru is zero when you have to leave the water environment and get stuck in the urethra no bigger than your body diameter.

The most convincing hypothesis to date is that fish ammonia is a candiru that identifies prey . If true, the urine person has similar characteristics enough to candiru confused.

Amazon is home to many interesting creatures.(Photo: John Warburton-Lee Photography / Alamy Stock Photo).

"The way candiru succeeds at night in the turbulent and muddy waters suggests that its adaptability is adjusted with more sensitive senses. Thus, candiru can detect odors and tastes. Characteristic from prey, " the researchers suspect.

Hypothetically tested, in 2011, Stephen Spotte from the University of Connecticut, USA and colleagues compared candiru's reflexes when exposed to raw fish, which often sucked on blood and ammonia instead of urine. As a result, candiru does not seem to be attracted to ammonia but tends to enjoy it before a goldfish looks delicious.

The candiru hypothesis attacks people by mistake that food is removed by proper research, the scientific community turns to seeking official reports of attacks to give clear explanations.

However, "considering the candiru behavior of rumors, vast habitats and significant numbers of residents living along the Amazon River, we should doubt why no case has been confirmed in the literature. " , Irmgard Bauer, from James Cook University, Australia questioned on a 2013 article.

To date, only one report has been considered the most robust case of invasive candiru cases. In 1977, in Manaus, Brazil, male patients were hospitalized with a candiru in the urethra. After several hours of surgery, Anoar Samad urologist has tried to pull the body out of the victim's penis. This incident was announced by Samad himself and became the only direct evidence of candiru attacking in literature.

With a lot of secret to decipher the mystery of the candiru, Stephen Spotte found Samad in 1999. Although many photos, videos of the patient rescue process and the candiru specimen taken from the penis, Spotte is still shy about trust. trust of the story.

According to the patient, the candiru then rushed up the stream of urine into his urethra brutally. This account is compatible with anecdotes about candiru, but biologist Bertram, from the University of Calgary, Canada, considers this description completely unfounded.

"In order to reverse the flow of urine, candiru must swim faster than the flow of water while lifting the body to the surface against the gravity," Bertram explained. "In any case, even if the candiru is capable of launching the body onto the surface of the water, it will be buried by a strong stream of urine, making it difficult to create enough force to squeeze into the urethra."

This expert asserts that it is impossible for hypothesis that candiru drives the body into the penis because it is against the law of fluid dynamics.

The next problem caused Spotte to wonder if the candiru specimen was kept quite large in size and showed no signs of attempting to insert itself into a narrow area like the urethra. On the other hand, although Samad insisted on using scissors to cut the spikes and pull the fish out of the penis, the fish sample was almost intact.

After the investigation, Spotte claimed, the chances of being candiru attacked while urinating in the Amazon River were extremely small, equivalent to the risk of "being struck by lightning and being eaten by sharks".

Decipher the mystery candiru

In the accounts of the Amazon explorer pioneers, tools, religious practices and therapies are all built by the Aboriginal people to deal with candiru.

If this legend is true, will candiru pose a threat to millions of visitors to Amazon every year? Bauer asked this question in an analysis of the candiru records she made in 2013.

Piranhas, fish with sharp fangs, also live in the Amazon region.Items used by people to protect themselves from piranhas can be misinterpreted as anti-candiru weapons because of language barrier.(Photo: Cristian Ciobanu / Alamy Stock Photo)

The expert said that with courageous adventurers in the 19th century, those who were not afraid to venture into the jungle and often heard a lot about strange creatures, it was difficult for them to distinguish between reality and badness. structure.

"In that case, the original story told with caution can quickly spread, gradually gaining more and more horror and eventually popular details that people believe is true , " Bauer to speak.

Language barriers are also a factor that makes rumors to be grounded. Lingua franca (bridge language) is widely used in Amazon, based on the language of Tupians, one of the most important tribes here. According to careful reviews, Europeans can speak lingua franca when exploring Amazon but not fluent in it. " The ability to misunderstand languages, attitudes and gestures, therefore, is not small, " Bauer said.

This means Aboriginal habits may have been misinterpreted. Complex instruments that protect the penis from the ferocious pointed teeth of piranha are understood as the anti-candiru weapon.

Similarly, the tea made from the jaguar tree (Genipa Americana) is mistaken for an expelled candiru. In fact, this type of tea is more effective for kidney stones, a symptomatic disease such as candiru swimming on the bladder to lay eggs.

The true misdirected facts are the reason why the candiru monster story becomes a convincing truth and terrifies many people, experts say.

The discoveries about candiru are the message of the victory of science with superstition. People should not underestimate the power of mother nature, scientists emphasize, but at the same time need to doubt everything, so that the strange tinged anecdotes do not prevent humanity from discovering.