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Assortment of Vivienne Westwood lighters

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Karl Bryullov, ‘Last Day of Pompeii’, (Details)

Cymothoa exigua is a tongue eating louse that is often found in the Gulf of California and enters the host through the fins of fish. Several male lice enter the fish at one time and one of those will develop into a female. The female then travels to the host’s mouth where it will attach itself to the base of the tongue. The blood supply to the tongue will cut off, causing it to die and fall out.

The parasite then binds itself to the remaining muscle and acts as its tongue and feeds off the host’s blood and algae and mucus that it collects in the mouth. The other lice remain in the fish’s gills and occasionally leave to mate. The host fish is often able to live with the parasite for years, relatively unharmed.