Post #13978

Tongue Woodlice: Ate a fish's tongue and then became a new tongue. The perfect parasite All these mechanical/bionic prosthetics are a total bummer, to be honest. They are expensive, heavy, inferior and consume a lot of energy. Whether it's biological prostheses - that's where the future lies! And I’m not the only one who thinks so, the fish agree with me. Their prosthetics are superior to human ones in everything, and they have only one drawback - they are too persistent. Here is an ordinary average fish with a tongue swimming along the west coast of North America. And a tongue woodlice floats nearby. She understands that this fish has a tongue, so she sneaks into its mouth and sucks on it. It would seem like a typical vile parasite, but it’s not that simple. The fun begins when the fish's tongue atrophies from lack of blood supply. Instead of running away or dying, like any self-respecting parasite, the woodlice takes the place of the withered tongue! Despite the fact that it does not merge with the nerve endings of the fish, the arthropod manages to amazingly accurately copy the movements of a real tongue, completely taking over its functions. And in return, she eats some of the food and mucus from the oral cavity of her owner. No more blood! Do you know what's the funniest thing? If the fish does not catch the infection during tongue prosthetic surgery, then the length and quality of life of the fish will not change AT ALL. For people with all our technologies, such quality of prosthetics is an unattainable ideal. This is because woodlice is an ideal parasite. And the ideal parasite instinctively understands the main rule of parasitism: the less harm you cause to the host, the higher your overall chances of survival and successful reproduction. And who knows, maybe in ten or two million years the tongue woodlice will take the next step and turn into a symbiont? Author: Yaroslav Ilyin 🏀 Hit the hoop and get an NFT gift — https://t.me/BasketbolX_bot