‘Tongue-eating’ lice invade fish’s mouth in this year’s creepiest Halloween photo

In any relationship, there’s usually one partner that does the heavy lifting. In the case of one alien-looking parasitic isopod, that’s the female, who has the tough job of gobbling up a fish’s tongue and replacing it with her own body. The male, meanwhile, takes the easy route and simply hangs out in a fish’s … Read more

Insidious Parasite Causes the Tongues of Fish to Fall Off And Then Replaces Them

Cymothoa exigua, popularly known as the tongue-eating louse, is a parasitic isopod that attaches itself to the tongue of its fish host, severs circulation, causing the organ to necrose and fall off, and then becomes the new tongue. We’ve covered a bunch of terrifying parasites on Oddity Central, but few can hold a candle to … Read more

Dive into anything

This parasite feasts on a fish’s tongue until it atrophies and falls off — then it lives in the fish’s mouth as its new tongue. It’s called a tongue-eating louse Makes me glad we humans can put our fingers in our own mouths/butts and pull shit out 2 more replies Super gross, but what bothers … Read more