Amazon River’s 13 Undiscovered Monsters

Candiru

The Candiru is also known as toothpick fish or vampire fish. It 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, Columbia, Ecuador and Peru. They are small fish.  Adults can grow to around 40 centimeters with a rather small head and a belly that can appear distended, especially after a large blood meal. Their body is luminous making it quite difficult to spot in the muddled waters of its home.  Although lurid anecdotes of attacks on humans abound, very few cases have been verified.

Head of a tropical scad (family Carangidae) with a tongue biter (Ceratothoa sp) on the floor of the mouth. The operculum has been removed to reveal the parasite and the gills.

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