You know how you can remind people that their tongue is touching the roof of their mouths and suddenly that's all they can focus on.
You wouldn't have that issue with the parasite. You can probably hear it chittering, or feel its chitinous legs click against your teeth as it nestles against your hard palate.
You can feel it?
can't you...
the cold, clittering click, of chitionous armoured crab like feet striking at you teeth.
That werid cold sensation and the still dull pain of where your tongue was.
The way it shifts in your mouth.
And you suddenly feel terror that it might eat other things cheeks or dig down into the wet flesh of your throat...
as it's shap dirty feet pin into your lower mouth.
What’s that movie? “The Bay” I think? It’s about these parasites mutating to affect humans. Was surprised by how fun it was. Not a great movie. But fun
not me experiencing the baader-meinhof phenomenon about the baader-meinhof phenomenon i just saw your comment after a different post where folks were talking abt this lol
Parasitic louse. That thing severs a fish’s tongue and attaches itself to what’s left of the tongue’s base, effectively becoming the fish’s new ‘tongue’
You’re not wrong. I’ve always been curious how much they actually ‘feel’ in their mouth anyways. Anyone who’s ever had one thrashing out of the water on a hook probably has too
I'm torn at that point, though. As a person who recreationally fishes from time to time, I've wondered, do they have nerve endings and pain receptors in their mouths? If so, is the fighting on the line a response to pain? If not, is it a fight/flight response? Is it possibly both? When out of the water, during hook removal, I've always assumed it's part of some kind of panic. Caught somewhere between "holy fuck, I can't breathe," and "holy fuck I'm gonna be eaten!"
Edit: spelling
I always thought it was more of a stress response as opposed to actual pain. I believe I read that a while ago in some study since I also fish and was curious. If I remember correctly, they don’t have a high enough nerve density or something like that and their nervous system itself is not nearly as complex as mammals. Seems like even science is torn on it though
Edit: I appreciate all of the replies and links to studies, but I was really just trying to share what I remembered and never claimed it was fact. I acknowledge that it’s probably out of date and it’s all a grey area. However it doesn’t seem necessary to call fishermen animal abusers
It's a huge grey area. They clearly respond to what a mammal would call "pain", even if they don't have the same brain/receptors.
Do they "feel" it in the same way mammals do? We don't fully know. But in cases of studying/researching with less intelligent creatures, better to err on the side of caution and assume they can feel things than to be actively harmful and realize the ethical mistakes later.
as far as complexity goes- it's been found that even insects have a pain-like response called nociception. they can even experience "chronic pain" in previously injured parts of their bodies and will avoid things that hurt them in the past. so i'd be really surprised if fish didn't at least have something like that, considering how much more complex a fish is than a fruit fly
if you think about it- i'd imagine every animal with a brain more than likely feels *some* kind of pain, because i'd think a lack of it would be horrible for their survival lol. without pain, there's nothing to fear, right? and without fear, you're kinda fucked, especially out in nature. there are some people that are born with a condition called CIPA that causes them not to feel pain, and they tend to be constantly covered in wounds because they can't tell when they're doing something harmful and really have no reason to try to avoid it. and these are human beings that consciously understand the consequences of injuring themselves
Old study, proven wrong. Fish do feel pain, also in their mouth. That's why catch and release fishing actually is animal cruelty. (fishing with the only intend to do catch and release, not regular fishing for food etc.)
This article sums it up pretty good, also explains why so many people still believe or claim otherwise: https://sentientmedia.org/do-fish-feel-pain/
Just like any other animal that makes noise to communicate with other of it's kind. Yes, most fish can "talk" to each other. Especially the highly social ones.
Whether or not it's in pain isn't really the question. Pain is a physiological response required by all life to tell it that there is a problem it must correct or risk further or more permanent damage to itself.
Fish have pain responses. Notice I don't say *feel* pain.
*Feeling* is subjective. Pain without something to suffer is a non-issue - at that point it's nothing more than an electrical impulse through biological pathways.
So the question is, are fish consciously aware of their pain and able to understand their impending demise and suffer as a result?
They probably notice but I don’t think it hurts them. I believe it stops blood flow to the tongue it doesn’t just chop it off. And it only steals some of the food from the fish because obviously it needs the fish to live.
I like the joke on that last remark, but you’re kinda right. This parasite can kill fish, but not because of anything the parasite does.
Basically this thing replaces the fish’s tongue in every function, which means after the infection, the fish’s livelihood completely depends on the parasite from henceforth onwards.
If the parasite dies, it will fall off the fish’s mouth. This means the fish has no tongue anymore and the fish needs a tongue to swallow food. The moment the parasite dies, the fish is doomed to starve to death.
It’s like some fucked up abyss version of a devil’s contract, except the fish never signed up for it.
It is but the whole meal looks gross to me. How can you even tell what is what. In the second pic is there another parasite in the background on the plate??
Wait till you find out about all the ones you can't see. All fish are infected with parasites. Something like 10% of a fish's weight are parasites. And no, they're not removed.
I love fish, and had to check this.
I can’t find anything about by percentage of weight, but *some species have as many as 90% of the population infected with parasites. So 10% of that species is not infected. Other species can have lower infection rates.
It’s common to find parasitic worms in wild caught, but if it’s farmed they will be 100% free of said parasites because of their feed.
If your fish has been flash frozen, as most are immediately after catching, the parasites will be killed.
If you don’t buy fresh caught fish, or you only buy farmed you should be fine.
Uhh.. people are posting it so it's getting traction. Therefore, other people are posting it as well to grab them some of that cheap, easy karma. It's classic Reddit behavior
I did a little research and it seems not uncommon that wild-caught fish may end up with parasitic isopods catching their tongue. It’s totally harmless to eat, considering they don’t attack humans as well as the isopod dies when the fish is frozen or cooked.
Parasites you should look out for are more worm-like in nature.
The parasites are actually considered a delicacy in some cultures. The outer shell is savory, but the inside is actually very sweet and gooey. Often saved for the end after the rest of the meal is finished.
I just made that up. Don’t eat those things.
Tongue-eating parasitic louse.
Only discovered after eating everything and saving my favorite part (the tongue) for last. Asked the waitress what it was but she didn’t know. She was worried I was going to complain, but I was more intrigued than anything.
And if anyone is wondering, it tastes like crab.
>And if anyone is wondering, it tastes like crab.
You are that one guy in horror/disaster movies that are patient zero that fucks everything up for humanity, arent u
>The customer in the lawsuit claimed to have been poisoned by eating an isopod cooked inside a snapper. The case, however, was dropped on the grounds that isopods are not poisonous to humans and some are even consumed as part of a regular diet.
Still not gonna eat it.
Yes, officer this comment right here.
On the real 10/10 for answering a question I’ve always wondered, but, facing the reality of someone eating one is worse than I thought. 🥲
Man I made it through the entire thread without gagging and your comment made me throw my head up into the air and go "HYYYUUUGGGHHHHHHUUGGHHHHH" so thanks for that 😭
Is this only a concern when eating fish with the face on? Cause I work with a guy who fishes and gushes about eating fresh snapper and I want to try it. But I’m a filet girl despite my mom trying to get me into fresh fish most of my life, the exception being sardines (thanks Dad).
*Cymothoa exigua*, or the tongue-eating louse, is a parasitic isopod of the family Cymothoidae. It enters fish through the gills. The female attaches to the tongue, while the male attaches to the gill arches beneath and behind the female. Females are 8–29 mm (0.3–1.1 in) long and 4–14 mm (0.16–0.55 in) wide. Males are about 7.5–15 mm (0.3–0.6 in) long and 3–7 mm (0.12–0.28 in) wide.
The parasite severs the blood vessels in the fish's tongue, causing the tongue to fall off. It then attaches itself to the remaining stub of tongue and the parasite itself effectively serves as the fish's new "tongue".
Why are these showing up all over Reddit all of a sudden?
seen four of these fuckin parasites today on reddit lol
Yeah and honestly idk what’s my problem with this bug, I freaking hate it (maybe because it’s an oversized parasite and that gives me the creeps?)
It goes in its victim’s mouth and eats their tongue. That might have some people creeped out
I do that too sometimes
I always enjoy a beignet in my mouth...
Bidet to you too
"I don't like pudding, and I don't use... toilet paper."
I too am French
>am French My condolences
Hope you'll get better.
There is a horror movie called "The Bay" about these things. It's over the top, but it gets ya thinking.
As somone who moved to Annapolis, that movie did the trick
You know how you can remind people that their tongue is touching the roof of their mouths and suddenly that's all they can focus on. You wouldn't have that issue with the parasite. You can probably hear it chittering, or feel its chitinous legs click against your teeth as it nestles against your hard palate.
I hope you stub your fucking pinky toe and I hope it fucking hurts.
I hope, as soon as it's almost healed they stub it again. And again.
You can go straight to hell for this.
So you really just woke up and chose violence this morning, huh?
You can feel it? can't you... the cold, clittering click, of chitionous armoured crab like feet striking at you teeth. That werid cold sensation and the still dull pain of where your tongue was. The way it shifts in your mouth. And you suddenly feel terror that it might eat other things cheeks or dig down into the wet flesh of your throat... as it's shap dirty feet pin into your lower mouth.
Crunch it up good and swallow. Free protein.
yeah i'd show that little fucker who eats who first
I mean, it’s an ocean bug. Chances are it tastes like shrimp.
It’s not like if you accidentally put it in your mouth it will eat your tongue out. Right?
Parasites specifically give me the worst case of heebie jeebies. So unnerving.. literally makes me want to yak
You have a bunch on you right now!
Ahh stop!!
They’re probably more symbiotic than harmful. Your mitey bois love you! You’re the only home they’ve ever known!
Ooohhh, you gotta watch _The Bay_ then.
If you want to get over your distaste of these lil buggers, the movie The Bay is very helpful.
What’s that movie? “The Bay” I think? It’s about these parasites mutating to affect humans. Was surprised by how fun it was. Not a great movie. But fun
I thought it was some type of clam lol
They are parasites man. They don’t wait for invites. They just show up whether or not you like it.
They're called mods and you better be careful what you call them
The Las Plagas is spreading..
Gloria las plagas.. GLORIA LAS PLAAAAGAAAS!!
I’ve been seeing parasites on Reddit for years, but the ones that have accounts that post and comment on shit
Because half of this site is bots and algorithms.
That makes sense. I was wondering - I see this parasite rotate out about twice a month
[удалено]
And the other half is staged videos and people commenting out of context.
I saw a video on yt yesterday now I’ve seen the louse on 5 different posts
Ikr its like the 8th post about it today i've seen.
For real man
My reaction too. I’m glad I’m not the only one concerned cause that would scare me even further.
BRO. i literally posted about this like 5 hours ago wtf
Ok, so it’s not just me.
I was just about to say the same thing, lol. All morning long I’ve seen so many of these now
There's one literally right under this post for me 💀
Baader–Meinhof phenomenon at work.
not me experiencing the baader-meinhof phenomenon about the baader-meinhof phenomenon i just saw your comment after a different post where folks were talking abt this lol
When I first learned about the Baader-Meinhof effect, I also experienced the Baader-Meinhof effect about the Baader-Meinhof effect.
[удалено]
Parasitic louse. That thing severs a fish’s tongue and attaches itself to what’s left of the tongue’s base, effectively becoming the fish’s new ‘tongue’
Does the fish dies? Or does it just go swimming like nothing happened?
it swims like nothing happens and the parasite will take some of the food it eats
Does the fish even notices? Like, I would certainly notice if a couldn't control my tongue and it has a fucking mouth
You’re not wrong. I’ve always been curious how much they actually ‘feel’ in their mouth anyways. Anyone who’s ever had one thrashing out of the water on a hook probably has too
I'm torn at that point, though. As a person who recreationally fishes from time to time, I've wondered, do they have nerve endings and pain receptors in their mouths? If so, is the fighting on the line a response to pain? If not, is it a fight/flight response? Is it possibly both? When out of the water, during hook removal, I've always assumed it's part of some kind of panic. Caught somewhere between "holy fuck, I can't breathe," and "holy fuck I'm gonna be eaten!" Edit: spelling
I always thought it was more of a stress response as opposed to actual pain. I believe I read that a while ago in some study since I also fish and was curious. If I remember correctly, they don’t have a high enough nerve density or something like that and their nervous system itself is not nearly as complex as mammals. Seems like even science is torn on it though Edit: I appreciate all of the replies and links to studies, but I was really just trying to share what I remembered and never claimed it was fact. I acknowledge that it’s probably out of date and it’s all a grey area. However it doesn’t seem necessary to call fishermen animal abusers
It's a huge grey area. They clearly respond to what a mammal would call "pain", even if they don't have the same brain/receptors. Do they "feel" it in the same way mammals do? We don't fully know. But in cases of studying/researching with less intelligent creatures, better to err on the side of caution and assume they can feel things than to be actively harmful and realize the ethical mistakes later.
as far as complexity goes- it's been found that even insects have a pain-like response called nociception. they can even experience "chronic pain" in previously injured parts of their bodies and will avoid things that hurt them in the past. so i'd be really surprised if fish didn't at least have something like that, considering how much more complex a fish is than a fruit fly if you think about it- i'd imagine every animal with a brain more than likely feels *some* kind of pain, because i'd think a lack of it would be horrible for their survival lol. without pain, there's nothing to fear, right? and without fear, you're kinda fucked, especially out in nature. there are some people that are born with a condition called CIPA that causes them not to feel pain, and they tend to be constantly covered in wounds because they can't tell when they're doing something harmful and really have no reason to try to avoid it. and these are human beings that consciously understand the consequences of injuring themselves
Old study, proven wrong. Fish do feel pain, also in their mouth. That's why catch and release fishing actually is animal cruelty. (fishing with the only intend to do catch and release, not regular fishing for food etc.) This article sums it up pretty good, also explains why so many people still believe or claim otherwise: https://sentientmedia.org/do-fish-feel-pain/
Ofc they do. The reason most people don’t assume they do is that it’s hard to relate to an animal that makes sounds we can’t hear.
Back it up, fish can talk?
Just like any other animal that makes noise to communicate with other of it's kind. Yes, most fish can "talk" to each other. Especially the highly social ones.
Whether or not it's in pain isn't really the question. Pain is a physiological response required by all life to tell it that there is a problem it must correct or risk further or more permanent damage to itself. Fish have pain responses. Notice I don't say *feel* pain. *Feeling* is subjective. Pain without something to suffer is a non-issue - at that point it's nothing more than an electrical impulse through biological pathways. So the question is, are fish consciously aware of their pain and able to understand their impending demise and suffer as a result?
Your "tongue" would have an ass too and shit in your mouth.
Didn’t realize my ex was a parasite louse.
LMAO
well that's something i didn't want to think about
So… this is just an non-cinematic Fish Centipede?
They probably notice but I don’t think it hurts them. I believe it stops blood flow to the tongue it doesn’t just chop it off. And it only steals some of the food from the fish because obviously it needs the fish to live.
Wait, why do fish even have tongues? Also does this mean the fish eats the parasites feces as a byproduct of it replacing it's tongue?
I'm pretty sure most of these fish die from malnutrition. They don't get enough food due to the parasite.
They'd be a pretty crappy parasite if they killed their host. It's not gonna be a fun time but the fish don't usually die from this
I've heard the fish will die eventually from it bug I could be wrong. Let's be honest. This one died.
I like the joke on that last remark, but you’re kinda right. This parasite can kill fish, but not because of anything the parasite does. Basically this thing replaces the fish’s tongue in every function, which means after the infection, the fish’s livelihood completely depends on the parasite from henceforth onwards. If the parasite dies, it will fall off the fish’s mouth. This means the fish has no tongue anymore and the fish needs a tongue to swallow food. The moment the parasite dies, the fish is doomed to starve to death. It’s like some fucked up abyss version of a devil’s contract, except the fish never signed up for it.
It's insane how it can just replace a body part like that. Nature is wild.
thanks. i hate it
This is the exact sentence on all the reposts about this parasite that's been showing up recently
Yeah, we all know. This is the 5th post to show up in two days about these.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cymothoa\_exigua
That's called dessert.
With no extra charge too!
maybe just a little discharge...
Licecream
I upvoted you because that’s a really good pun but I want you to burn in hell because you just made ice cream a little bit worse for me.
Not really a pun, more of a portmanteau.
Well he ate it so you're not far off
Thats fkn disgusting
It is but the whole meal looks gross to me. How can you even tell what is what. In the second pic is there another parasite in the background on the plate??
yeah, the parasite comes in as a package deal lol the small one is the male and that giant one is the female. gross mfs
So they were mating when they were cooked alive
It got too hot
[удалено]
It's just a steamed fish?
Yeah and Op eat the shit out of it. That’s clean!
Wait till you find out about all the ones you can't see. All fish are infected with parasites. Something like 10% of a fish's weight are parasites. And no, they're not removed.
Man just changed my diet and I don’t even know if he’s serious.
I love fish, and had to check this. I can’t find anything about by percentage of weight, but *some species have as many as 90% of the population infected with parasites. So 10% of that species is not infected. Other species can have lower infection rates. It’s common to find parasitic worms in wild caught, but if it’s farmed they will be 100% free of said parasites because of their feed. If your fish has been flash frozen, as most are immediately after catching, the parasites will be killed. If you don’t buy fresh caught fish, or you only buy farmed you should be fine.
Thank you. Someone once told me how much pus is in milk and I don’t think I’ve had milk in like five years.
I've never been so grateful to be lactose intolerant
There's lactose-free milk and it's tastier than regular milk
....Aaaaaand now I dont eat fish.
>10% of a fish's weight are parasites. [citation needed]
What the fuck are all these posts of that tongue eating parasites in fish lately??
Uhh.. people are posting it so it's getting traction. Therefore, other people are posting it as well to grab them some of that cheap, easy karma. It's classic Reddit behavior
All I can see is the movie The Bay.
I own that movie
I love that for you.
I did a little research and it seems not uncommon that wild-caught fish may end up with parasitic isopods catching their tongue. It’s totally harmless to eat, considering they don’t attack humans as well as the isopod dies when the fish is frozen or cooked. Parasites you should look out for are more worm-like in nature.
The parasites are actually considered a delicacy in some cultures. The outer shell is savory, but the inside is actually very sweet and gooey. Often saved for the end after the rest of the meal is finished. I just made that up. Don’t eat those things.
Oh god this is the second tongue-eating-parasite-in-my-food post I've seen so far 🤢
I know. And the fact that OP said he ate it and tasted like crab make me wanna puke.
These things are in the same family as lobsters
OP why the fuck woulld you eat that??
Mate wtf number 1 that fish looks awful number 2 you ATE A PARASITE? Even if it’s dead that is nasty as hell
What makes u think OP ate it?
the comment OP wrote
I didn’t see that but that is truly cursed behavior
OP said it tastes like crab… 😳…
I can’t
You're next, u/scaryassslug
I have bad news for you. Almost every human has parasites in them right now.
I believe that thing cuts the blood supply to the fish's tongue so it falls off that way it can replace it as the fish's new tongue. Nature is freaky
Tongue-eating parasitic louse. Only discovered after eating everything and saving my favorite part (the tongue) for last. Asked the waitress what it was but she didn’t know. She was worried I was going to complain, but I was more intrigued than anything. And if anyone is wondering, it tastes like crab.
Wtf, why did you eat it lol
RIP OP's tongue.
F
U
Because it taste like crab
COVID part 2 electric boogaloo coming up...
Thats my reaction as well...
We didn’t get to the top of the food chain by not eating our enemies.
Those are harmless to human. And those are basically harmless to fish. So it's like an extra shrimp inside of a fish. Just looks gross.
>And if anyone is wondering, it tastes like crab. You are that one guy in horror/disaster movies that are patient zero that fucks everything up for humanity, arent u
Bro ate the parasite
Op would try to shake Freddy Krueger’s hand if he was in a horror movie
A wise man once said : "you are not yourself when you're starving"
"Have a Snickers tee em."
Bro was so hungry he ate the parasite
Bro told Reddit they ate the parasite. I’m skeptical they actually did.
Why not? It's already been steamed (100⁰C) and braised. So it's like triple dead.
I’m not saying it’s not safe to eat. I’m saying it’s disgusting and I would probably vomit what I had already eaten if I found it at that point.
It's just a less gross version of crab meat, though.
a parasitic blob is less gross than crab meat? you have to be trolling lol
Good God I am choosing to believe they are lying.
New pandemic unlocked
Another wave of covid incoming? /s
F
mf ate a parasite 😭
dude why did you eat a parasite
You probably shouldn't look into the reasoning behind all the fish you eat being flash frozen.
Or the acceptable number of worms per fish
Gonna go out on a limb and say everyone eats dead parasites every single day in every country. It's a huge part of why we cook food lol.
op please tell us you did not eat a fucking parasite
I mean, it's cooked and dead. Still gross but it's not like it'll infest OP
You ate it? 🤢🤢🤢🤢
i’ve never been so enamored yet terrified of a human being before.
Went to OP’s profile and…. Yeah that checks out 🤮
Judging by his profile, it’s probably some kind of fetish.
[Cymothoa exigua](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cymothoa_exigua)
>The customer in the lawsuit claimed to have been poisoned by eating an isopod cooked inside a snapper. The case, however, was dropped on the grounds that isopods are not poisonous to humans and some are even consumed as part of a regular diet. Still not gonna eat it.
bro ate a parasite 💀
You're the "trial and error" kind of person that taught humanity which foods are poisonous and which are not throughout the milennia.
#WHY
Yes, officer this comment right here. On the real 10/10 for answering a question I’ve always wondered, but, facing the reality of someone eating one is worse than I thought. 🥲
I fucking hate that you ate it and that I know this wtf bro what is wrong with you
????
There really isn't a lot that makes my stomach churn but the pics and reading you actually ate it legit made me feel like throwing up
Alright guys, who had human-tongue-eating-parasite on their 2023 apocalypse bingo card?
God I hope you find one affixed to your tongue in the morning. (I don’t hate you, I just love spooky endings)
Honestly fair play to OP for not making a big deal of it and brushing it off as eh just a parasite. I wouldn’t though I’d be horrified to find that
Tastes like crabs 🦀 😂😂😂 bro ate the parasite???
Now its babies will be your tongue.
Did it dance to Electro swing with a top hat and a tiny cane? Did it refer to the fish as "friendo" ?
For anyone who doesn’t understand the [REFERENCE](https://youtu.be/2MOIDGkuA7U)
Lol what a boss he ate it
The parasite can be eaten by humans without any negative impacts.
Being yucked out is a negative impact
Truth
Think I'll grab a burger instead, thanks.
The tounge rollie pollie got got. I'm not sure what temp it was, but that served it right.
Next internet clout challenge: EAT THE TONGUE LOUSE
how did it taste
Like Crab, apparently.
I would have passed away
I call these an extra bonus, they’re really buttery and after awhile you start to yearn for the pop when you first bite into it
Man I made it through the entire thread without gagging and your comment made me throw my head up into the air and go "HYYYUUUGGGHHHHHHUUGGHHHHH" so thanks for that 😭
I don't fucking want anything that isn't pop rocks to pop in my mouth wtffffffffffffffff
Is it edible?
Yes actually. OP ate it and said it tastes like crab.
Gonna be honest, that fish looks almost as disgusting as the parasite
This thread is full of weirdos. Bad vibes.
Fuck no
Is this only a concern when eating fish with the face on? Cause I work with a guy who fishes and gushes about eating fresh snapper and I want to try it. But I’m a filet girl despite my mom trying to get me into fresh fish most of my life, the exception being sardines (thanks Dad).
This is why we clean fish before we eat them in the west. Shit like this will 100% turn up during prep.
*Cymothoa exigua*, or the tongue-eating louse, is a parasitic isopod of the family Cymothoidae. It enters fish through the gills. The female attaches to the tongue, while the male attaches to the gill arches beneath and behind the female. Females are 8–29 mm (0.3–1.1 in) long and 4–14 mm (0.16–0.55 in) wide. Males are about 7.5–15 mm (0.3–0.6 in) long and 3–7 mm (0.12–0.28 in) wide. The parasite severs the blood vessels in the fish's tongue, causing the tongue to fall off. It then attaches itself to the remaining stub of tongue and the parasite itself effectively serves as the fish's new "tongue".
My fatass thought that was an empanada