Cymothoa Exigua is a tongue-eating louse which attaches itself to the base of a fish's tongue and slowly consumes it. After that is done, it attaches itself to the muscles of the tongue stub, effectively replacing it in function. It continues to feed on fish blood and mucus. It's the only known parasite to functionally replace a host organ.







Ah....Isn't nature just so wonderful?

Does the fish get damaged by not having a tongue anymore, or does it 100% replace it without harming the fish?

No, the fish can "use" the parasite just as it would it's own tongue. I doubt it's as effective as the original tongue, but good enough i suppose.

It seems that the use of the parasite as a tongue would be limited to movement. What would be cool is if the parasite could wire it's nervous system to that of the host so the host could still taste with the parasite's tongue.

Is it me or at the first Picture the fish's upper teeth look Human O.o
-Srry, but ive never seen a fish with such teeth