Parasitic isopods, particularly those within the family Cymothoidae, represent a remarkable example of host‐parasite coevolution in marine environments. These crustaceans attach to or embed ...

But the most infamous isopods are fish parasites, including the tongue-stealer that was recorded by a Texas Parks and Wildlife employee at Galveston Island State Park this month.

Now, Nico Smit says that the fish and parasite can live together for many, many ... when he first saw what would become a new species or a new species to science, I should say, of parasitic isopod.

The family of the newly discovered isopod, Cymothoidae, consists of obligate fish parasites, with 380 living species primarily found in tropical and subtropical waters.

Here's a relationship that's in questionable taste: A parasitic isopod replaced the tongue of a fish that was recently caught in Texas. Also known as a tongue-eating louse, the most well-known ...

So these are the isopods that go into the mouth of the fish. They can sit on the tongue, then they destroy the tongue of the fish, and then they function as the fish’s tongue.

CHAKRABARTI: I have to say my first response when seeing a photograph of this parasite was, Wow. Because it looks just like the fish’s tongue, but with some eyes staring out of his mouth. Now ...

Many years ago, while working on his Ph.D., Smit ran across something special in the coastal waters off South Africa: a tongue-replacing parasite. Search Query Show Search HOME ...