This parasite eats a fish’s tongue and becomes the new tongue

There are parasites, and then there's this,

Thumbnail designed with Grok

A parasite named Cymothoa Exigua with its nickname, the tongue eating louse. It is one of the strangest parasite you'll ever come across and it's not because of the way it looks but how it operates, how it feeds and how it survives.

It didn't get its nickname, tongue eating louse by accident, that is exactly what it does. You would think it would eat the tongue and be in its way to another fish but it goes further to become the tongue of the fish.

How exactly does it do it? When the louse first enters into the fish’s gill, it attaches itself to the tongue and then begins to extract blood from the tongue. Eventually, when the tongue is no longer able to supply blood to the louse, the tongue atrophies.

Atrophy is a science term for when the tissue shrinks, withers and eventually dies.

Another thing you might think is that the living creature after succumbing to the parasite's death grip will die from it but the parasite doesn't kill the host fish.

It attaches itself to whatever that is left of the tongue of the fish and becomes the new tongue of the fish. As the fish feeds, the parasite takes some of the food that comes in.

What a lazy rent free way to live am I right?

The fish does not necessarily suffer a great deal from the loss of its original tongue, it will merely be living alongside the parasite. It’s just as creepy as a random stranger suddenly comes into you house uninvited, rearranges the furniture, takes some stuff you needed out and decides to stay with you till death do you both part, and the cops can't do anything. But then again, there's no law system in the animal kingdom.

Cymothoa Exigua is one extremely uncommon parasite that actually provides its host with a replacement organ instead of just attaching and feeding. Animals have odd ways of surviving, but the Cymothoa Exigua is at the top of that list.