Everyone loves, or at least recognises, the many species of anemonefish (aka clownfish), that inhabit the reefs around Malapascua. Made famous by a certain animated film, our little anemone dwelling friends recieve their fair share of diver attention, and vice versa due to the extremely aggressive territoriality displayed by these fiesty fishes.
If you look very, very closely however, you might be in for a wee surprise!
Many species of fishes, including little Nemo and friends, are targets of a most disturbing parasite – Cymothoa exigua, a most unusual creature… After entering the mouth of its target host through the gills, the crafty C. exigua attaches itself to the tongue of the host. It extracts blood through the claws on its front, causing the tongue to atrophy from lack of blood – pretty gross right? But it doesn’t stop there…
The parasite then replaces the fish’s tongue by attaching its own body to the muscles of the tongue stub. The fish is able to use the parasite just like a normal tongue. It appears that the parasite does not cause any other damage to the host fish. Once C. exigua replaces the tongue, it feeds on the host’s blood,or in some cases fish mucus. This is the only known case of a parasite functionally replacing the host organ it destroys!!!
So, next time you’re up close and personal with a frantic anemonefish, have a peek and see if you’re not the only unwelcome visitor!!
