Cymothoa exigua
parasitic crustacean / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cymothoa exigua, or the tongue-eating louse, is a crustacean, a parasitic isopod.
Quick Facts Cymothoa exigua, Scientific classification ...
Cymothoa exigua | |
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Scientific classification | |
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Family: | Cymothoidae |
Genus: | Cymothoa |
Species: | C. exigua |
Binomial name | |
Cymothoa exigua (Schiødte & Meinert, 1884) | |
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This parasite enters fish through the gills, and then attaches itself. The female attaches to the fish's tongue, and the male attaches on the gill arches beneath and behind the female.[1] The female parasite destroys the fish's tongue. Then it attaches itself to the stub of what was once the tongue and becomes the fish's new tongue.[2]