Cat got your tongue?

[Mik]

Did I say cat? I meant louse.

The only parasite that functionally replaces an organ. The tongue-eating louse (Cymothoa exigua) is one of the strangest and most disturbing parasites in the animal kingdom. It enters through the gills of a fish and attaches itself to the base of the tongue. It severs the blood vessels, causing the tongue to wither and fall off. Then it replaces the tongue, attaching itself to the stump and functioning like a prosthetic tongue. The fish can still eat and live normally—with the louse acting as its new tongue.

[Axtremus]

Hhmmm ….. imagine a parasite replacing one of your own organs and you go one “living normally.”

[jon-nyc]

Well, it did happen to our early ‘ancestors’ when mitochondria were engulfed by eukaryotic cells.

But that seems less gross.

[taiwan_girl]

That is weird, and fascinating! LOL