Son and I decided to take a break from our grass-cutting chores and go fishing. I had a hankering for another redfish and I sure was not going to catch one with the weedeater. The pier was calling so we just heeded that call no matter how much we really would have rather cut grass. Once there, he threw the net for a few minnows to use as bait. The menhaden were sparse and it took a number of throws to get enough or, at least, what we thought we would need. Turns out, we should have stayed back with our chores. Nary a fish took our bait. Finally, we decided to return up the hillside. Just as he was unhooking the poor dead minnow, I noticed something fall down upon his jeans' leg. Hmmm? That was not good. I have seen these things far too many times before. They hurt! Back in the day, Pop told us that they were some form of a leech. Well, they do, indeed, act like one because the critters latch onto a finger and just won't let go! Son, being the calm person he is, just picked the critter up and inspected it. "Hey, you need to get a picture of this guy." he informed me. So I did.
Traipsing back up the hillside, our conversation turned to just exactly what was this critter. It really did not look like a leech. This called for a bit of research. My studies on the critter turned up a little more information than I was comfortable knowing. Perhaps being in the dark was not such a bad thing. The critter in question is none other than a Cymothoa exigua. (Admit it now, you did not know that either!) It is commonly known as the Tongue-Eating Louse. (Admit it now, you did not really want to know that, did you?) The legends are true...there really is a tongue-eating critter out there! This parasite crawls into the fish's mouth, gnaws off the tongue leaving just a stub, attaches itself with its hind legs, and begins its life as the fish's new tongue. This allows the fish to eat but, also, allows the louse to readily feed. This, my friends, is the female of the species. The male has its gory job as well. The male attaches himself to the gills of the fish. These critters stay with the fish for the duration of their (or the fish's) life. Since Son's bait had died, the female louse abandoned the mouth and plopped out on his leg. (I am sure the louse was just as surprised as he was about this new arrangement.)
There is not a lot that can be done to prevent the infestation of the Cymothoa exiqua. The critters are in a lot of different fish but are more noticeable in the menhaden since they are small and the critter takes up most of the mouth. A lot of the fish that are taken as food actually have the parasite in their mouth but since we very rarely examine down the throat of a fish while cleaning it, we have no idea what is loitering in there! One good thing...these critters are not supposed to attack people other than in self defense. (I hope!)
Now that my eerie tale of the Tongue-eaters is told, I just ponder over the many folks that I see playing in the waters of the Bay. What other unseen critters are lurking beneath those muddy waters? Is there some just as creepy critter waiting to grasp ahold of a human? Is there anything out there aside from the obvious such as sharks, alligators, stingrays, gars, eels........ok, so that is enough to make me stay on the pier! Those Horrible Tongue-eating Critters can just keep taking up residence in the fish and leave me alone! (I have to admit, she does have neat looking eyes!)
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