Cat got your tongue? Well, not in this case! According to the BBC, a strange-looking parasite was recently discovered inside the mouth of a weaver fish off the Minquiers. Attracted to fish, the parasite, an isopod, eats the fish’s tongue then takes up residence inside its mouth!
The parasite, a type of a louse, is about 1 inch in length and survives on animal’s blood by drinking the blood from a tongue artery. Paul Chambers, a marine researcher from the Societe Jersiaise, identified the parasite. Chambers described the isopod as “vicious” with “really sharp, nasty claws. “ Isopods are attracted to fish, so humans need not worry. But they will deliver quite a bite if they are picked up or stepped on.
The host fish does not appear to suffer any other ill effects, other than not having a tongue. Live specimens of the creature are rare.
Visit Sharenator or FishingFury for photos of the tongue-eating louse.
Fish tongue photo by a2Gemma
