# Ahhhhh! Bizarre tongue-eating parasite! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 16, 2005, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ahhhhh-bizarre-tongue-eating-parasite/322005 "2005-09-16T17:40:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2005, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ahhhhh-bizarre-tongue-eating-parasite/322005/1 "2005-09-16T17:40:37Z")
[http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid\_4200000/newsid\_4209000/4209004.stm](http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/newsid_4200000/newsid_4209000/4209004.stm) "A gross creature which gobbles up a fish’s tongue and then replaces it with its own body has been found in Britain for the first time. The bug - which has the scientific name cymothoa exigua - was discovered inside the mouth of a red snapper bought from a London fishmonger. The 3.5cm creature had grabbed onto the fish’s tongue and slowly ate away at it until only a stub was left. It then latched onto the stub and became the fish’s “replacement tongue”." THE TONGUE HAS EYES!!! ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2005, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ahhhhh-bizarre-tongue-eating-parasite/322005/2 "2005-09-16T17:42:19Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > THE TONGUE HAS EYES!!! This is, of course, a little-known sequel to “The Hills Have Eyes”. ---
**Author:** ![Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/779978/32.png) [@Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amazon_Floozy_Goddess)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2005, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ahhhhh-bizarre-tongue-eating-parasite/322005/3 "2005-09-16T17:54:44Z")
“Mommy! Billy stuck his cymothoa exigua out at me!!” ---
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2005, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ahhhhh-bizarre-tongue-eating-parasite/322005/4 "2005-09-16T18:32:59Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > THE TONGUE HAS EYES!!! What’s worth, it looks rather . . . smug. As with everything other fascinating topic, there’s [an episode of This American Life epside featuring parasites](http://www.thisamericanlife.org/pages/descriptions/04/274.html) that talks about the fish-tongue thing. There was also a great article on [parasites in the August 2000 Discover Magazine](http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1511/is_8_21/ai_63583791). ---
**Author:** ![Podkayne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Podkayne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Podkayne)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2005, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ahhhhh-bizarre-tongue-eating-parasite/322005/5 "2005-09-16T18:34:43Z")
Aaaand “worth” of course, is how you prounouce “worse” after your tongue has been replaced by a parasite. ---
**Author:** ![Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f08c70/32.png) [@Crowbar\_of\_Irony\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crowbar_of_Irony_3)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2005, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ahhhhh-bizarre-tongue-eating-parasite/322005/6 "2005-09-16T18:36:05Z")
> [@Linked artciled](#): > > But don’t be too freaked out - scientists say the creature does not pose any threat to humans and only attaches itself to fish tongues Don’t be freaked out? Who cares about that thing on attaching to fish tongues!! What if the fishmonger didn’t realise it? What if I ate it for dinner!!! I don’t need a tongue inside my stomach! _Much panic ensues. Yes, I meant panic_ ---
**Author:** ![metj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@metj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/metj)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2005, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ahhhhh-bizarre-tongue-eating-parasite/322005/7 "2005-09-16T21:04:03Z")
> [@](#): > > But don’t be too freaked out - scientists say the creature does not pose any threat to humans and only attaches itself to fish tongues Who exactly would volunteer to be the study subject on this? ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2005, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ahhhhh-bizarre-tongue-eating-parasite/322005/8 "2005-09-16T23:57:58Z")
**ExtraKun** : > [@](#): > > Who cares about that thing on attaching to fish tongues!! What if the fishmonger didn’t realise it? What if I ate it for dinner!!! I don’t need a tongue inside my stomach! a) Since the fish has no tongue, you would not end up with a tongue inside your stomach b) If you ate it for dinner, something \ else might end up with your tongue inside its stomach c) But all your subsequent meals would have an Official Taster ---
**Author:** ![bizzwire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/958977/32.png) [@bizzwire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bizzwire)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2005, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ahhhhh-bizarre-tongue-eating-parasite/322005/9 "2005-09-17T00:43:52Z")
Thanks, **RevTim** …I knew something was missing from my life… Excuse me while I go blow my brains out… ---
**Author:** ![Seven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Seven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seven)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2005, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ahhhhh-bizarre-tongue-eating-parasite/322005/10 "2005-09-17T05:31:16Z")
> [@](#): > > But don’t be too freaked out - scientists say the creature does not pose any threat to humans and only attaches itself to fish tongues. Tats what thay tink. Tupid tie-n-tis’. ---
**Author:** ![Large\_Marge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/50afbb/32.png) [@Large\_Marge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Large_Marge)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2005, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ahhhhh-bizarre-tongue-eating-parasite/322005/11 "2005-09-17T06:11:16Z")
I didn’t even know fish HAD tongues … ---
**Author:** ![Seven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Seven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seven)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2005, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ahhhhh-bizarre-tongue-eating-parasite/322005/12 "2005-09-17T07:41:48Z")
I’d hate to see what happens when the fish tongue eating parasite meets a [tonguefish](http://www.ocean-institute.org/edu_programs/materials/P/Org/F_G/Tongue.htm). The poor parasite wouldn’t know where to start.