Video shows a school of candirus devouring an alligator's carcass in the Madeira River A fisherman recorded the moment in which a school of candirus devoured an alligator's carcass in the Madeira River, in Porto Velho. The incident took place at the beginning of July, during navigation near the Rondon-Roosevelt Bridge. In the video, it is possible to see the fish consuming the animal from the inside out. The images were recorded by Airton Viana and published on social media, where they have already received more than 68 thousand views (watch above). According to him, he was producing content at the request of his followers to show the candirus when he came across the scene. ? There are several species of candiru. The fish that appears in the video is the candiru-açu, a scavenger species that feeds on meat. It is different from the hematophagous candirus, which feed on blood and became "famous" for supposedly entering the urethra of humans (see more interesting facts about the animal below). According to biologist Flavio Terassini, heard by g1, this behavior is common in the waters of the Madeira River. According to the expert, candirus play an important role in cleaning organic waste from the river. "The candiru fish is very abundant and common in rivers here in the Amazon, especially the Madeira River. This fish is like the vulture of the rivers. It is a carnivorous, scavenger fish, which feeds mainly on meat and decomposing matter, dead animals", explains the expert. Terassini states that one of the biggest curiosities involving the candiru-açu is the fear of attacks on humans. However, according to him, the behavior of the species is different from what many popular stories would lead us to believe. "There are people who bathe in the Madeira River and it rarely attacks. So the living being in the river will hardly suffer its attack. Now, after the person dies, or the animal dies, then they will attack", explains the biologist. What is candiru-açu? g1 spoke with researcher and specialist in diversity and biogeography of freshwater fish, Fernando Dagosta, who explained the characteristics of the species. According to him, the candiru-açu is a type of scavenging catfish, different from the hematophagous candiru, considered the "true" ones. “The candiru-açu has well-developed teeth, used to cut and tear off pieces of meat,” he said. The fish lives mainly in rivers with dark waters, such as the Madeira and its tributaries. According to the expert, the species forms large schools and has a highly developed sense of smell, which makes it easier to locate food even in environments with little visibility. "They are oriented much more by smell than by sight. That's why they can quickly find dead or decomposing animals," he explained. Although piranhas are often associated with removing body parts from Amazon rivers, the expert says that, in many cases, the candiru açu is among the first to arrive. Candirus devouring alligator carcass in the Madeira River Reproduction/Airton Viana