Ouch! dat hurts

[Lee Borgersen]

                          Pacu Fish Discovered in Europe

 September 5, 2013 
 
Pacu, like this red-bellied pacu pictured, have teeth resembling those of humans.

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Recently, a mild panic erupted in Sweden after a fisherman found a pacu fish in his net. Pacu are closely related to the piranha, although they bear one dubious distinction from their more famous cousins. Whereas piranha are known to be flesh-eaters, pacu have developed a reputation for biting men’s testicles, earning them the moniker “ball-cutter.” Although this trait is only rumored, it has led to alarm wherever the pacu are discovered, especially outside of their native habitat in South America. Sightings in the United States have been recorded but never before have the pacu reached Europe, at least not until now. Last week, France also reported a catch which was confirmed to be pacu. According to The Telegraph, the fish was found in the River Seine near Paris and measured over one foot.

Native to the Amazon, pacu can grow much larger than piranha. Additionally, the pacu’s teeth are not as sharp as a piranha’s but instead resemble those of a human. They are farmed in South America as a food fish and surprisingly, were one of former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt’s favorite dishes while dining in Brazil. Roosevelt went so far as to detail strategies in catching the toothy fish in his book Through the Brazilian Wilderness. Understandably, any fish with the nickname “ball-cutter” is sure to cause concern, and Swedish beach-goers were reportedly panicked after a pacu was found in Oresund Sound last month. The discovery did not seem to faze the French much, but local police did confirm that a pacu fish was found in the River Seine.

“The pacu is not normally dangerous to people but it has quite a serious bite, there have been incidents in other countries, such as Papua New Guinea, where some men have had their testicles bitten off,” said Henrik Carl, a fish expert at the National History Museum in Denmark.

“They are almost identical to the piranha, you couldn’t even tell from the outside. It’s just that they have different teeth. Flatter and stronger, perfect for crushing,” he added.

Despite their cringe-worthy reputation, pacu are popular as exotic pets worldwide and many sightings of this fish in the wild can be attributed to a careless owner.