The only parasite to replace an organ

in #animal6 years ago

Hello friends! I bring you information about a parasite that is able to successfully replace the tonguege of its host.

Note: I'm not very good in English. (En español: https://busy.org/@caribay/el-unico-parasito-capaz-de-sustituir-un-organo )

The parasite is called Cymothoa Exigua, it is a crustacean about 3 to 4 centimeters long, the females are larger than the males and feed on the blood of the fish.
But you will ask, how can he pretend to be the fish's tongue?
These crustaceans enter through the gills of the fish, reach the mouth and adhere to the base of the tongue with its three pairs of legs, and begin to draw blood from the artery that supplies the tongue.
Over time, the host's tongue atrophies and ends up disintegrating, then the crustacean replaces the function of the organ by its own body, the fish does not suffer major damage and uses the parasite as if it were its own longue.

parasito 3.jpg

parasito 1.png

parasito 4.gif

Scary, do not you think? Luckily it's harmless for humans, you can relax.

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