Random FactsCuriousOneCymothoa, eats, exigua, Fish, parasite, replaces, tongueComment

 Cymothoa exigua is a parasite that eats a fishy tongue and completely replaces it

Random FactsCuriousOneCymothoa, eats, exigua, Fish, parasite, replaces, tongueComment
 Cymothoa exigua is a parasite that eats a fishy tongue and completely replaces it
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Cymothoa exigua, or the tongue-eating louse, is a parasitic crustacean of the family Cymothoidae. This parasite enters fish through the gills, and then attaches itself to the fish's tongue. The female attaches to the tongue and the male attaches on the gill arches beneath and behind the female. Females are 8–29 millimetres (0.3–1.1 in) long and 4–14 mm (0.16–0.55 in) in maximum width. Males are approximately 7.5–15 mm (0.3–0.6 in) long and 3–7 mm (0.12–0.28 in) wide.[1] The parasite destroys the fish's tongue, and then attaches itself to the stub of what was once its tongue and becomes the fish's new tongue.[2]

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