Cymothoa exigua Cymothoa exigua
Where the cymothoa exigua lives – recorded in 1 country, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.
Pin and shaded countries are approximate. The pin is a representative wild-collected museum specimen (a central record among 70 open-licence GBIF records – few open-licence observations were available), not an official range. Method · Records on GBIF · See crabs, lobsters & shrimps on the world map
| Scientific name | Cymothoa exigua |
|---|---|
| Group | Crabs, lobsters & shrimps |
| Found in | 1 country |
| Continents | North America |
| Class | Crustacean |
| Order | Isopoda |
| Family | Cymothoidae |
Where does the cymothoa exigua live?
Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the cymothoa exigua in 1 country or territory across North America.
Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.
What kind of animal is the cymothoa exigua?
The cymothoa exigua (Cymothoa exigua) is a crustacean in the order Isopoda and the family Cymothoidae, genus Cymothoa. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)
About the cymothoa exigua
Cymothoa exigua, also commonly known as the tongue-eating louse, is a parasitic isopod of the family Cymothoidae. As an ectoparasite, it lives on the outside of the host, and is found throughout the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Adults grow up to an inch in length and are among the largest isopods recorded. C. exigua are hermaphrodites, and are all born as a male before switching to female later in life. As such, female C. exigua are generally larger than males.
Many species of Cymothoa have been identified, and only Cymothoidae isopods are known to consume and replace the host's organs. Other species of isopods known to parasitize fish in this way include Cymothoa borbonica and Ceratothoa imbricata. Cymothoids are adapted to specific areas of attachment on the host, including scale-clingers, mouth- or gill-dwellers, and flesh-burrowers.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Cymothoa exigua (revision 1380102510), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q18873 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).
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