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The Huffington Post | By Hunter Stuart Posted: 09/24/2013
Although it's native to the Amazon, a testicle-eating fish species called "Pacu" has been turning up in places including Denmark, France and Illinois.
Now, a large Pacu has been found in northern New Jersey, just more than 10 miles outside New York City.
Retired bus driver Tom Boylan hooked a 10-inch-long Pacu on Saturday at Third Ward Veteran's Memorial Park in Passaic, N.J., according to The Bergen Record, which posted a photo of the fish.
Pacu have wide teeth shaped like molars and strong jaw muscles that allow them to crack open tree nuts and other tough aquatic foods. Somewhat terrifyingly, however, the fish have been known to mistake human testicles for tree nuts. Two men in New Guinea reportedly died from blood loss after a Pacu chomped on theirs.
The exotic fish, which migrate upstream in order to spawn, can weigh up to 55 pounds and grow up to 3 or 4 feet in length.
“Most likely, someone had [the 10-inch Pacu] in their fish tank and it grew too big, so they dumped it,” Pat Egan, manager at Absolutely Fish, told The Bergen Record after the store identified the fish. “We call them ‘tank busters.’ We don’t even sell them because they grow so big."
While the news of a Pacu in Passaic County is likely to scare some local residents, the good news is that the fish reportedly can't survive cold temperatures, so swimmers should be safe by spring.
Still, it might be wise to keep your swimsuit on.
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