Tongue Eating Creatures

[Axsyrus]

I just found something pretty disturbing, a parasite that eats the tongue of a fish and then sits there as a replacement  8o

Here\'s some info about it:

http://www.amonline.net.au/fishes/faq/tongue.htm
Several species of parasitic crustaceans (cymothoid isopods) are known as tongue biters. These parasites are sometimes seen on the floor of a fish\'s mouth \"replacing\" the tongue. Current evidence suggests that the tongue is pierced at the base by the pereopods (walking legs) of the isopod, resulting in it eventually being physically detached, or atrophying and then dropping off.

Some species of tongue biters feed on the host\'s blood and many others feed on fish mucous. Tongue biters do not eat scraps of the fish\'s food. Most evidence indicates that these isopods do not kill the host.

http://www.amonline.net.au/fishes/faq/tbiter2.htm
A tropical scad with a fish doctor on the floor of the mouth. Parasitic isopods are not just found in the mouths of fishes. They are also known to attach to the fish under the fins, scales, in the gills, or sometimes internally. View an image of an isopod (fish louse) on the side of a fish.

http://tolweb.org/tree?group=Isopoda&contgroup=Peracarida
Tongue-eating isopod, Cymothoa exigua

This isopod causes degeneration of the tongue of its host fish the rose snapper, Lutjanus guttatus, and it then attaches to the remaining tongue stub and floor of the fish\'s mouth by hook-like pereopods. In this position the isopod superficially resembles its host\'s missing tongue. Brusca & Gilligan (1983) hypothesize that these isopods serve as a mechanical replacement for the fish\'s tongue and represent the first known case in animals of functional replacement of a host structure by a parasite. This relationship is so-far known only from the Gulf of California.

I\'m never coming anywhere near water again

[Kixie]

*wonders in amazement of randomness of post* err ok. thats gross and all but nothing completely surprising. i freaked out when i heard that parasites in the amazon could infect you by crawling up your urethra (your pee pee tube in lei man\'s terms) and they sit there untill they grow to a big enough size to burst through your... place... i will NEVER swim in teh amazon river. you couldnt pay me. any amount... ew.. the thought of loosing my.. well enough of that. anyways there are grosser wierder things out there and this really doesnt shock me at all.

[Sir Fishy]

dude that is the sickest thing ive ever seen eeew a thingy living in your mouth...gross ugh nasty.. 8o

[Xalthar]

hmm, ya I remember seing that in one of those shows about nature and stuff... pretty effective way to get around for a parasite

[faldrok]

Originally posted by whemyfield
*wonders in amazement of randomness of post* err ok. thats gross and all but nothing completely surprising. i freaked out when i heard that parasites in the amazon could infect you by crawling up your urethra (your pee pee tube in lei man\'s terms) and they sit there untill they grow to a big enough size to burst through your... place... i will NEVER swim in teh amazon river. you couldnt pay me. any amount... ew.. the thought of loosing my.. well enough of that. anyways there are grosser wierder things out there and this really doesnt shock me at all.

Did you know that the old tribes or whatever people used that as torture? So, I will never get close to the Amazon. Not within 200-500 miles(that\'s something like 500-1000km somewhere in the mix-up) :rolleyes:

TORTURE!!!!!

And the tongue parasites. I never knew about them. Nice info. although I shudder to think why/how you found them.

[dorbian]

ok dude that is so freakin sick, keep ur parasites to urself, to much sick info.

do i have to go on???

[Xalthar]

go whine/throw up somewhere else will ya :rolleyes:

[Uyaem]

that would definately spice up French kisses a lot...
*/me hands out sickness bags*

[Rageburst]

Tongue eaters are very fascinating. I\'m an entophile always looking up spiders and the likes, but this is also very neat; like out of a horror flick. In that last pic where one is nipping the fish\'s bottom... so cute.


Note to Whemy:
your sig says you \"hate the Japanese.\" It probably means... I don\'t know, but you should edit it anyway.

It\'s not racist to say that Japanese people are crazy since they do crazy things all the time and because of the Most Extreme Elimination Challenge show.

[NewPie]

OLD THING ! >: |

I\'ve known those parasite things for 4-6 years ...