Study Abroad Blog – GIC Argentina

I suggest you don’t look at these 15 creatures if you are eating or have a weak constitution!

South America is the most bio-diverse continent on earth – it’s believed that approximately 50% of the worlds animal species live in the rainforest. With so many species living on this continent there is bound to be a few that turn your stomach…

1. Candiru – Vampire Catfish

Sometimes a nude bather, or one wearing loose clothing, can have a candiru enter one of his or her bodily orifices — vagina, rectum or penis. If the creature gets into the urinary tract, the fish’s opercle spines require surgical removal. If not removed, deadly infection results. It is thought the fish tings human urea is water expelled from gills. This is a very, very good reason never to pee in the ocean and it even makes Speedo’s on men start looking viable to me. Some sources say women are more likely to be candiru victims because the vagina is a larger, easier to enter orifice. I’ll proceed on the side of caution in the ocean!

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2. Human Botfly

Central and South America are home to the human botfly which lays eggs on a mosquito or other insect. When the insect bites a human, eggs fall onto human skin and hatch because of body heat. The botfly larvae burrow below the skin and travel everywhere in the body, even moving across the blood-brain barrier. It can cause meningitis and death after invading brain tissue which it consumes as food, destroying the brain.

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3. Guinea Pig

How can anyone eat a creature as cuddly and cute as a Guinea pig? I don’t get it. But Peruvians consider it a delicacy. Personally, I will skip this one, but if you should want to try it, here’s a recipe:

Juan Fajardo’s Fried Guinea Pig

1 guinea pig, gutted, cleaned and hair removed (how it is de-haired is beyond my imagination)

1/2 cup flour

1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

salt and black pepper to personal taste

1/2 cup oil

Pat the guinea pig skin dry. Rub with cumin, salt, and pepper. Heat the oil while dusting the carcass (ed: yummy sound to the word “carcass” in a recipe, don’t you think?) with flour. Place in hot oil, back down, turning so both sides cook thoroughly.

If preferred, cut carcass into quarters before frying.

Commonly served in South America with boiled potatoes or manioc root, and tomatoes and onions bathed in lime juice with a dash of salt to make a salad. It is said to go well with good cold beer. (ed: I would need LOTS of beer before trying this “delicacy” at all!)

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4. Schistosoma fluke

The Schistomosa fluke resides for most of its life in fresh water snails and anyone attacked by this disgusting creature wishes it remained there forever. The fluke leaves the nest at a certain life stage and finds another home inside an unsuspecting human where it begins to wreak complete havoc with the body. The intestines grow polyps, blood pressure rises even more than yours has just reading this, kidney failure ensues, urethra infection then leads to bladder cancer.Sometimes the central nervous system becomes involved and CNS lesions result in cerebral granulomatous disease because of ectopic S. japonicum eggs in brain tissue. Granulomatous legions form around ectopic eggs in the spinal cord as well.

The cercaria attaches to and explores human skin, before penetration. As it penetrates the human, it transforms into the migrating schistosomulum stage, moving through the body and potentially resulting in eventually painful, horrible death.

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5. Maguey Worm

If you drink Mescal, you are aware there’s a worm in the bottom of the bottle. This is the maguey worm which is the caterpillar phase of skipper butterflies. Both Mexican and South American peasants think of it as a treat and it is, in fact, really nutritious. Just 100 grams has over 650 calories, about the same as two large servings of rice. Considered delicious either braised or deep friend, they are commonly seasons with a spicy sauce and served in a tortilla.

Adding the maguey worm to Mescal began with an Aztec custom. The Aztecs believed there was spiritual significance shown by having an insect in alcoholic beverages.

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6. Brazilian Wandering Spider

This South American creature, the Brazilian wandering spider, is the most venomous species of spider and horrific in appearance. The venom causes severe pain and priapism in humans. If you have been watching male performace medication ads, you may know that priapism means sexual arousal including an erection for long periods of time.  The long-term erections can be very uncomfortable and even seriously painful, not to mention embarrassing. In females, the clitoris is involved and, while not obvious, is not less painful and uncomfortable. In men, priapism which is not medically addressed can result in impotence, the inability to achieve or maintain erections. This venom may prove to have use in the medical field to help those with erectile dysfunction.

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7. Anaconda

Here’a creature that preys on everything it can get it jaws around including fish, small animals, larger animals, even humans at times. It’s huge, very strong, and the anaconda is not only a disgusting South American resident, but extremely dangerous.

The reptile has powerful jaws to grab and sharp teeth to hold prey which are often dragged into the water to drown. In other cases, the snake coils around the victim, preventing the ability to breath and squeezing the life out using it’s huge body muscle.

To learn why you should never consider placing your arm into the mouth of an anaconda, watch this video:

Huge Anaconda Bite

8. Goeldi’s monkey

Monkeys, including this one, are cute but I don’t think it would be so appealing when cooked and served on a plate!

This South American species of money lives in groups of families and spend their time in the rain forest tree canopy. While we may be revolted by the idea of eating one, the people living in the Amazon basin find it a useful protein source.

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9. Bullet Ant

The bullet ant gets its name because of the severe pain of its sting — comparable to being shot by a bullet. Using the Schmidt Sting Index, these ants rate as number one you-will-shit-out-your-brain pain in all of arthropodea. What’s more, the ants SHRIEK as they attach you.

Most societies today have a nice happy initiation ceremony for passage into manhood where there’s a big party, gifts of great stuff or cash, and everyone makes a big deal about the happy young man. Well, in South American some indigenous peoples use the bullet ants are part of their initiation ceremony. The other men create special leaf sleeves into which they sew hundreds of these South American ants, with stingers pointing inward. You can imagine what they do with the sleeve, right? Well, once placed on the young man, he is immediately stung to holy living hell by — and this is critical to grasp — HUNDREDS of bullet ants, all sewn into this sleeve, stingers pointing inward.

I think I really appreciate the rite of passage party my parents threw for me a whole lot more now! If you are a young man and given a Bar Mitzvah, graduation party, or other rite of passage celebration, perhaps a party for turning 21, be happy you aren’t having it hosted by these South Americans!

10. Titanus giganteus

Titanus giganteus is the world’s biggest beetle and a member of the Cerambycidea which are South American native insects. It can reach 6-inches in length (170 mm). The larvae bore into wood but the adults can bite painfully. Apparently, one adult male bit and shattered a plastic school ruler used by a photographer to show size relationship due to the severe pain. Think what the mandibles of this huge insect could do to a fingernail or toe — no wait, I don’t want to think about it!

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11. Piranha

Most piranha species are quite harmless and docile, but the ones with the nasty reputation for aggressive behavior are the red-bellied piranha, Pygocentrus nattereri.Adult piranha will eat just about anything – other fish, sick and weakened cattle, even parts of people. Sickly cattle that have stooped their heads down to drink from the river have been grabbed by the mouth and nose and pulled into the water, completely devoured minutes later.

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12. Stingray

Fans of Steve Irwin well remember this television animal star’s death because of a stingray stinger puncture to his heart. While human death by stingray is not common, when disturbed stingray uses the barbs on the end of its tail to protect itself as well as to kill prey. The fact that the stingray did not intend to kill Irwin doesn’t make doesn’t change the outcome. Common to saltwater the world over, these creatures can reach huge proportions, so avoid them at all costs to be safe in the water.

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13. Barracuda

Barracuda live in salt water in South America and worldwide. They can reach seven feet in length and these fish have sharp teeth. Victims are bitten, shredding human skin. Once bleeding, the human victim can be killed or other predators, including sharks, come because of their attraction to blood. Most human attacks occur at night since these huge fish seldom seek out human prey. They can, however, find shiny objects interesting because they think the sparkle is the scales of prey fishes.

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14. Moray Eel

Species of moray eels live through the saltwater regions of the world, including South American. This deadly sea creature grabs hold of its prey using sharp teeth and holds on until the victim drowns or is consumed by the eel. While morays are not large enough to consume humans, they can easily drown swimmers and divers and are attracted to anything shiny. If you go into the water where reefs or cavities for eels to hide inside occur, never reach inside any opening or wear anything shiny. Only cutting the eel away can free the victim before drowning occurs.

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15. South American Centipede

The South American centipede can grow up to a foot long and will even eat it’s own recently shed skin!

This 100 legged hunter will spend its days hunting hunting iguanas and baby rats in the South American Rainforest.

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