We’ve covered cymothoa exigua, the horrifying alien-like parasites that eat and then replace fish tongues, pretty extensively around here (mainly in connection with last year’s fish tongue parasite horror movie The Bay). Turns out we only scratched the surface of how gross these things actually are.
PBS stalwart Nova went and made a disarmingly whimsical animated short about cymothoa exigua, which highlights all sorts of heave-inducing facts about the little monsters. For instance, the creatures live mainly on fish mucus and do their no doubt absolutely repulsive mating while inside the poor fish’s mouth. Oh, and they’re hermaphrodites, because sure, why not?
Gather the kids and hit the jump for some cartoon fun…
Who’s up for some snapper?
via io9