Fish Parasite Videos Are REALLY Creepy

We’ve posted about these parasites before, but this is the first time we’ve posted videos. If you don’t like creepy-crawly things, don’t watch these videos!

The next video is possibly even more disturbing, so I’ve left it until after the break..

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Tongue Eating Fish Parasite Photos

Our good friend Adam Guy, all the way from the waters of Japan, sent me these amazing photos. We’ve talked about this tongue eating fish parasite before, but these may be some of the best photos to date that I have seen of this particular parasite. Good job Adam!

On Sunday fishing near Yokosuka I caught a fine example of Japanese horse mackerel (Trachurus japonicus) and when I was preparing the fish that evening, it turned out to be harboring a parasite known here in Japan as ‘uonoe’ (Rhexanella verrucosa). Apparently these creatures affix themselves to the tongue and help themselves to whatever the host fish eats. As you can see in the photos I have attached, with their multiple legs like hooks, they seem well adapted to their niche; I had to behead the mackerel to remove the parasite from its tongue. According to the literature here, these parasites are common in red sea bream and yellowtail amberjack (kingfish), but the two examples I have come across personally have both been in horse mackerel. In both cases, the fish appeared outwardly healthy and did not seem emaciated or unwell at all. The parasitic infection did not appear to affect their flesh either, as they were quite delicious.

All the best,
Adam Guy

Whats the Matter, Parasite Got Your Tongue?

I’ve caught a few freshwater fish with leeches, and seen a few pictures from friends of Musky with large ulcers, but I’ve never seen anything like this. One things for sure the next time I catch a fish I’ll be looking in their mouth for one of these buggers. You can find more information and pictures on the Australian Museum Fish Site.

Cymothoa exigua, a crustacean, is the only known parasite that effectively replaces a body organ. It makes its home in the mouth of a fish, where it drains blood from the tongue until it withers and dies. It attaches itself to the remaining stub and the fish is actually able to utilize it as a replacement tongue to draw in and manipulate food, which the parasite shares.

Link via Boing Boing