Swedish swimmers warned over testicle-biting pacu fish

SWEDISH men have been waed to avoid nude bathing after a species of fish known for attacking testicles has been found locally.

An 8 inch pacu was caught by fisherman in the Oresund Sound last week.

The fish, a relative of the piranha, is known for its attacks on male genitalia and has been nicknamed the \"ball cutter\" in its native South America.

There are even reports of fishermen who have bled to death after losing their testicles to the fish, which can grow to 3 ft and weigh up to 55 Ibs.

\"Keep your swimwear on if you're bathing in the Sound these days - maybe there are more out there!\" Henrik Carl, a fish expert at the Danish museum, told Swedish news site The Local.

\"They bite because they're hungry, and testicles sit nicely in their mouth,\" Carl said.

The pacu fish known as the ‘ball cutter" (Picture: SWNS)

\"And its mouth is not so big, so of course it normally eats nuts, fruit, and small fish, but human testicles are just a natural target.”

Although native to the Amazon and Orinoco basins, they have also been found in Papua New Guinea and Texas, where officials reportedly put a bounty of $100 on a nuisance pacu spotted in a lake there.

The one caught off the Swedish coast is currently undergoing DNA tests to confirm its identity.