Vandelliinae
| Vandelliinae | |
|---|---|
| Vandellia cirrhosa | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Siluriformes |
| Family: | Trichomycteridae |
| Subfamily: | Vandelliinae Bleeker, 1862[1] |
| Type genus | |
| Vandellia[1] Valenciennes, 1846[2]
| |
| Genera | |
|
see text | |
The Vandelliinae, the hematophagous catfishes, are a subfamily of freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Trichomycteridae, the pencil and parasitic catfishes. Vandelliines are hematophagous, feeding on the blood of larger fish. Members of this subfamily may be known as candirú, notorious for occasionally entering human bodily orifices, particularly the urethra; no evidence indicates such attacks are anything more than rare and accidental aberrations of the usual feeding behaviour of the parasite — it seems unlikely that it would survive in the human body for long, so such an entry should be disastrous for both parties. In the usual course of events, parasitic vandelliines enter the body cavities of host fishes, feed on blood from gill filaments, and leave again.[3]
Vandelliines usually parasitise ostariophysan fishes such as pimelodids, doradids, and characins.[4] The eyes of Vandelliinae species are relatively large among catfishes, indicating sight may be important in prey detection.[4]
Genera
Vandelliinae contains the following genera:[2]
- Paracanthopoma Giltay, 1935
- Paravandellia A. Miranda Ribeiro, 1912
- Plectrochilus A. Miranda Ribeiro, 1917
- Vandellia Valenciennes, 1846
References
- ^ a b Richard van der Laan; William N. Eschmeyer & Ronald Fricke (2014). "Family-group names of recent fishes". Zootaxa. 3882 (2): 1–230. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3882.1.1. PMID 25543675.
- ^ a b Fricke, Ron; Eschmeyer, William N. & van der Laan, Richard (eds.). "Genera in the family Vandellinae". Catalog of Fishes. California Academy of Sciences. Retrieved 28 November 2025.
- ^ Nelson, Joseph S.; Terry C. Grande; Mark V. H. Wilson (2016). Fishes of the World (5 ed.). John Wiley & Sons. pp. 212–213. ISBN 978-1-118-34233-6.
- ^ a b Spotte, Stephen; Petry, Paulo; Zuanon, Jansen A.S. (2001). "Experiments on the feeding behavior of the hematophagous candiru, Vandellia cf. plazaii". Environmental Biology of Fishes. 60 (4): 459–464. Bibcode:2001EnvBF..60..459S. doi:10.1023/A:1011081027565.