EWWWWWWWWWW

This parasite attaches itself at the base of the spotted
rosesnapper fish\'s tongue with the claws on its front three
pairs of legs, and extracts blood from the tongue of its host
fish. As the parasite grows, less and less blood is able to
reach the tongue, and eventually the organ atrophies from lack
of blood. The parasite then replaces the fish\'s tongue with
its own body, by attaching to the muscles of the tongue stub.
The fish is able to use the parasite just like a normal
tongue, except that it has to share its food with the
parasite. It appears that the parasite does not cause any
other damage to the host fish. Once C. exigua replaces the
tongue, it supplements its diet with food particles, thereby
relieving strain on the host\'s circulatory system. This is
the only known case of a parasite functionally replacing a
host organ.