Cymothoa exigua, commonly known as the tongue-eating louse, is a parasitic isopod of the family Cymothoidae found throughout the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. As an ectoparasite it lives on the outside of its host, and adults grow up to an inch in length, among the largest isopods recorded. All individuals are born male before switching to female later in life, a form of hermaphroditism that generally leaves females larger than males.
Facts
Classification
System (Realm) Scientific Name Conservation Status Connections
Child Taxon Of
Source Wikidata: Tongue-eating Louse
In the Other Atlases
- Also in Geography Atlas: Yemen, found in there.
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Cymothoa exigua
2. GBIF Species API
3. GBIF (IUCN Red List category): GBIF IUCN Red List category for Cymothoa exigua
GBIF (IUCN Red List category)GBIF taxon key 2210260, category fieldQuote, GBIF taxon key 2210260, category field
"category": "NOT_EVALUATED"
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
Wikidata: Tongue-eating Louse
- Wikidata Q18873, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)
- Child Taxon Of: Malacostraca, Wikidata parent-taxon (P171) chain
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