Tongue eating Crouse...

[flyingfrizzle]

Tonuge eating Crouse...aka...Cymothoa exigua


I was out fishing in the sound this weekend for big 50"+ drum and while catching bait I happen to come across this little guy. Odd to find him in a menhaden that was about 5-6" long. I have thought these were more of an ocean fish crustacean and surprised to pull one from the back sound. Not knowing a lot about them I did a Google search and found out these little guys actually are the only known thing to eat an organ and then become that organ. Crazy how they enter the fish and then attach to the tongue to suck the blood out of it. They sucks the fishes tongue till it dies and then they replace the tongue with its self. The Crouse attaches where the tongue once was and then the fish uses it as an tongue. Pic below of the one I pulled out of the fishes mouth at the bottom. Had to rip it out as it was attached well. Its little black eyes were just staring at me out the fishes mouth. Scary little bugger. How would you like to have this for a tongue? Not sure how common they are so I thought I would post about it.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=327-bwMQI-Y


http://www.cc.com/video-clips/t0b3f4...ating-parasite