A rare fish known for gnawing through men’s testicles while they are out swimming has been found in the River Seine in Paris.
The sharped-tooth Pacu is a Piranha-style creature with a variety of nicknames, including ‘The Nutcracker’.
Mainly found in steamy South American waters, it is known for gliding below male swimmers and taking a nibble out of their most sensitive organ, sometimes allegedly ripping it off and swallowing it.
The Pacu, which is of Brazilian Indian origin, is technically a vegetarian, but tends to be attracted to male genitalia for unknown reasons
A fisherman in Paris called the river police when he reeled in the frightening looking fish, which can weigh as much as 25 kilos, last Friday morning.
‘He sent us an image of the picture through his smart phone and it turned out to be a Pacu,’ said a police spokesman. ‘It is a fish with a very dangerous bite!’
The Pacu, which is of Brazilian Indian origin, is technically a vegetarian, but tends to be attracted to male genitalia for unknown reasons.
There have been unconfirmed reports of fishermen in Papua New Guinea having their manhoods ripped off by the fish.
When one was found in Denmark last month, Copenhagen University professor Peter Rask Moller said: ‘All we suggested was that swimmers keep their pants on until we know if there are more of these fish out in our brackish waters.’
When Pacu turn up in strange places, it is usually because the owner of an exotic aquarium has dumped one.
‘Pacu are commonly kept in aquaria because they are fairly docile, but look like piranhas,’ Peter Moyle, a fish biologist, told the Los Angeles Times last month.
‘They grow quickly in captivity and, unlike goldfish, will outgrow aquaria, so owners release them into whatever pond they can find locally.’
The Seine is nowadays considered too dirty for swimming in, and police said that the chillier weather would soon ensure that fish like the Pacu would not survive.
