Source: http://forums.playpark.net/showthread.php?t=428459

Eew :O
I don't want to try that ..

========================
Two dead in piranha penis frenzy
Source: Herald Sun (Au)
Published: July 6, 2001
Author: AAP
========================

TWO Papua New Guinea fishermen have bled
to death after having their penises bitten off by pirahna-like river fish.

The fish, which zero in on urine streams in the water, have struck
terror among villagers along the Sepik River, in northwestern PNG.

Authorities believe the killer fish is an introduced member of the
South American pacu family and a relative of the piranha.

In both of last
month's fatalities, the fish demonstrated a trait of the piranha by following a trail of urine in the water, swimming to its source and then biting it off with razor-sharp teeth.

Some believe the killer may be a food-source fish introduced from Brazil in 1994 by the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) and the PNG National
Fisheries Authority (NFO).

However marine biologist and aquaculturist Ian Middleton said he believed they were a different species, introduced from across the PNG-Indonesia border.

He denied the fish were the descendants of the pacu species introduced to the Sepik River in 1994 and the Ramu River at Madang in 1997 by the FAO and the NFA as a
protein substitute.

"The killer fish have the most human-like teeth
on the bottom jaw I have ever seen and quite possibly feed on insects," he said.

Middleton said the FAO/NFA-introduced pacu grew to 20 kilos and had no teeth.

Pacu are mainly vegetarian but will adapt to eat almost anything.

Middleton said he believed the killer fish had started biting humans because
of a lack of naturally occurring food.

"The reason for biting people on their genitals I believe is a result of the
fish detecting a chemical change in the water, swimming up the urine trail and
biting the genitals."

Middleton said this behaviour was well-documented in the Amazon, where other
species of the piranha family attack in response to urine or blood.

He said people along the Ramu River were now harvesting the introduced pacu
and there had been no reports of attacks on humans.

"I do not believe that in over five years of research and careful
consideration that the FAO and the NFA would be stupid enough to introduce such
a hazardous species, nor any relative of the piranha," Middleton said.

However the Director of the PNG Office of Environment and Conservation, Dr
Wari Iamo, yesterday expressed "grave concern and dissatisfaction" at the way
some government agencies and donor organisations had gone about importing exotic
plant and animal species.

"A classic example is the salvinia molesta (a floating water weed) control
program in the Sepik during the 1980s which cost millions of kina (dollars)
because someone accidentally introduced the weed into the river system," he
said.

"In the last two decades various agencies and individuals have introduced
over 30 species of exotic fishes into the country."

Source: http://www.shaman-australis.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=12143

I can imagine guys wincing when they read that article.

I thought an piranha attack was bad enough.
But having your privates bitten off.. EEW.

Candiru or candirú (also canero or toothpick fish) refers to parasitic freshwatercatfish of a number of genera in the family Trichomycteridae. They
are found in the Amazon River and have a reputation among the natives as the most feared fish in its waters, even over the piranha.[1] They are eel-shaped and translucent, making them almost impossible to see in the water. Some species have been known to grow to a size of 6 inches (~15 cm) in length.

Curious now?
What is it about such a teeny fish that can make people fear it more than a piranha?

Candiru are parasites. Their ability to detect respiratory currents in the water allows them to swim into the gill openings of other aquatic species, where they feed on their prey's blood.

While the members of the subfamily Vandelliinae feed on blood, members of Stegophilinae may feed on scales, mucus, or carrion.[6]

This fish is feared to attack humans and animals and swim into an orifice (the vagina, anus, or even the penis—and deep into the urethra).[4] Because of spines protruding from the fish, it is almost impossible to remove except through surgery.[7] The fish locates its host by following a water flow to its source and thus urinating while bathing increases the chance of a candiru homing in on a human urethra. Natives have also been known to bathe facing the current, as doing so would decrease the chances of the organism lodging itself in the rectum.[citation needed] Other orifices such as the penis or vagina are covered up with the use of hands.

Though there have been documented candiru attacks on humans,[8] there is no evidence the fish can survive once inside a human. A traditional cure involves the use of two plants, the Jagua plant (Genipa americana) and the Buitach apple which are inserted (or their extract in the case of tight spaces) into the affected area. In theory, these two plants together will kill and then dissolve the fish. More often, infection causes shock and death in the victim before the candiru can be removed.

A well-circulated myth is that the candiru is capable of swimming up the stream of urine in mid-air to a victim standing on shore or a boat. This is physically impossible as the maximum swimming velocity of the fish is opposed by the downward velocity of the urine stream, and the further impossible act of the 5–14 mm wide fish maintaining position and thrust within a 2–7 mm wide column of fluid. They are also probably not attracted to urine as commonly thought.[4] However they are capable of jumping and entering the urethra of a man standing thigh-deep in the water and urinating. They are also probably only able to enter a human urethra when it is expanded during urination.[8]

WTF.

I don't feel like including pictures of that fuggin fish.
It has spikes on its body, for goodness sake.
I can only imagine the victim to be in extreme pain -.-"
If anyone is interested to see how it looks like, there're many links at wikipedia.

I'm going to research more on such weird animals.
:D
Toodles.

CHARMAINE CHEONG.

I’m a somebody and a nobody. I’m rational and emotional. I’m critical but I’m non-judgemental.

I like my things categorized by types and chronologically. I like taking photos to preserve the moments of my life. I like dystopian literature. I like reading Wikipedia articles at random. I like travelling to foreign lands and seeing the world. I like long conversations over good food. I like pop and classical music. I like guitars. I like cats. I like writing random, mushy letters and notes to the people important to me. I have a whole long list of things that I like, but you’ve got to get to know me better to know them all.