Vampires do exist! Well, sort of.
Meet the vampire fish, locally known as candiru. This unique freshwater fish can be found in the Amazon River Basin. In addition, this particular species is part of the catfish subfamily Vandelliinae. The vampire fish got its name from how it survives -- by attaching itself to the bodies of other fish and sucking on their blood. Sounds gruesome.
In order to be able to latch on their prey, the vampire fish have long and robust snouts. They also have strong dentary teeth that help them to stay attached to the skin of their host in order to feed on its blood. A study suggests that the fish’s relationship with its prey is less harmful than expected. In Lubich et. al’s sampling study of freshwater fish fauna, they discovered a lack of coagulated blood, flesh, skin, or mucus, as the researchers wrote: “We believe the association between candiru and host, in this case, might be commensalism (where one organism benefits from another without harming it), rather than parasitic, because the hosts were not badly harmed, and the candiru apparently derived no food benefit."
Image credit: Lubich et.al / Pensoft
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