| In fact, the candiru is one of a very few vertebrate parasites that targets humans. |
|
| The unnamed new species of fish is a smaller relative of the candiru, which is well known in the Amazon as a danger to people who go into the water. |
|
| Catfish are also extremely diverse, ranging in size from tiny three-quarter-inch-long bloodsucking candiru to the six-foot-long 300-pound monsters known as piraiba. |
|
| The candiru feeds parasitically by burrowing into body orifices, jamming itself in place using barbs along its sides then drinking the blood of its victim. |
|
