Rare tongue-eating parasite found

[Du5t1n 57]

It eats the tongue and replaces the tongue with itself. Read more!

Edited 20 Sep 2009 by Dustin (see edit history)

[SoulSwordx 0]

lol?

[Adr990 2]

omg eeewwwwwwwww creepy.

[Otis McNutt 395]

Really, well that is odd. It reminds me of the first time I heard of Necrotizing faceitus (flesh eating bacteria) really creepy stuff.

Edited 20 Sep 2009 by Savanti Romero (see edit history)

[Vio Milanor 28]

Oho, that's pretty wicked.

To think that there would be an isopod over here.

[Stormsworder 0]

The website tried to give me a virus... can you just post the text of the article here? ><

[Vio Milanor 28]

September 10, 2009

Rare tongue-eating parasite found

A rare parasite which burrows into host fish before eating and replacing their tongues with itself has been found off the Jersey coast.

Fishermen near the Minquiers - islands under the jurisdiction of Jersey - found the isopod, a type of louse, inside a weaver fish.

Marine researcher Paul Chambers, from the Société Jersiaise, was one of the fishing party and identified the find.

He said he was surprised to find the isopod away from the Mediterranean sea.

Isopods are normally about 2cm (1in) long and live in fish, surviving on the animal's blood, in warm waters.

'Quite vicious'

Mr Chambers told: "When we emptied the fish bag out there at the bottom was this incredibly ugly looking isopod.

"Really quite large, really quite hideous - if you turn it over its got dozens of these really sharp, nasty claws underneath and I thought 'that's a bit of a nasty beast'.

"I struggled for weeks to find an identification for this thing until, quite by chance I stumbled across something that looked similar in a Victorian journal.

"Apparently there's not too much ill effect to the fish itself except it's lost its tongue."

Experts at the University of Southampton confirmed that the creature was an isopod and that there had been several sightings of them in Cornwall in 1996.

Mr Chambers added: "It doesn't affect humans other than if you do actually come across a live one and try and pick it up - they are quite vicious, they will deliver a good nip."

Edited 20 Sep 2009 by Vio Milanor (see edit history)

[Stormsworder 0]

Thanks Vio.

And eeew. ><

[LegoBonez 0]

I'm going to go puke now.....

That is disgusting!

[Shadowknight 54]

Whoa. My mind is blown. It's quite interesting what kinds of creatures there are on this planet, especially the ones that hide out away from human eyes.

In the mouth of a fish, for example.

[Xylobe 0]

Woah, that's messed up.

[Aethix 129]

This is why I hate nature.

[Marquis 9]

Aren't Isopods those things that lived on earth before the dinosaurs?

also....

FREAKY!!

Mr Chambers added: "It doesn't affect humans other than if you do actually come across a live one and try and pick it up - they are quite vicious, they will deliver a good nip."

Best thing i've heard in weeks.

[The Fuzzmaster 0]

Any idea on how to get a few of these imported?

[True Gamer 19]

I've never even heard of this parasite...interesting. Those look quite nasty however... *shiver*