![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
For my weekly biology class discussion, the instructor asks us to come up w/an example of each type of specialized feeder - carnivore, herbivore, parasite and parasitoid. Well, carnivore was easy - my 'nakes. Herbivore was actually kind of hard because technically, every creature eats other organisms, even if its bacterial or viral or protozoan in nature. I chose the koala because all the articles I read on it emphasized its enormous caecum. Intestinal bits seem to be very important to biologists & researchers for some reason I don't want to really think about. Parasitoids are things that parasitize a host and ultimately destroy it, like parasitic wasps. Parasites, of course, depend on a host for food and shelter. While not being as destructive as a parasitoid organism, the relationship is not as friendly as the word 'symbiosis'.
So I started looking for information on the infamous parasitic catfish, aka the candiru, aka the toothpick fish, aka the dreaded peckerfish. The fish that I thought Rob was making up til I read a book on ethnobotanical research going on in the Amazon River Basin that mentioned it.
While the peckerfish is an amazing creature, it brought me into contact with this thing. It's a rather large mite that attaches itself to the tongue of certain types of fish & either eats the tongue or cuts off the blood flow to the tongue (I'm not clear on that point, some articles say one thing & the other articles say the other thing) & then remain latched onto the stump of the fish's tongue & steals its food. Bloggers have mentioned catching fish afflicted with said parasite & then the blogger goes ahead & eats the fish anyway, which... I dunno. I've eaten many strange things in my life, and will probably eat a few more before I die, but if I ever caught a fish & its tongue was looking at me, I don't think I could eat it. In fact, I'd be lucky if I could actually unhook it & throw it back. The thought of reaching into a fish's mouth to extract a hook & brushing my hand against one of those creepy crawlies is... just...
Yeah. Ew.
EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This would probably make a great meme.
10 Things I Didn't Need To Know About:
1) I could have gone my entire life never knowing about the tongue-eating fish parasite.
2) I also could have gone my entire life without hearing stories of spiders taking up residence in people's ears.
3) The guinea worm
4) I didn't need to know the tool used for liposuction is basically the same thing as a mortician's trocar - or that morticians are probably more delicate in wielding it than plastic surgeons.
5) The botfly
6) I didn't need to know that Charles Manson was born in 1934. He's one year older than my dad would be if my dad was still alive. My dad was younger than Charlie Manson. Good gods!
7) I know way more about Irritable Bowel Syndrome than someone who does not have it should know.
8) I didn't need to know that Scientologists believe they were left here by aliens. I pride myself on being tolerant & accepting, and the whole Scientology thing really pushes my boundaries of acceptance and tolerance.
9) I didn't need to know about mucous plugs.
10) Even though I am morbidly obsessed with all things pertaining to death, I don't think I ever needed to know about grave wax. Adipocere. Not on my need-to-know list, especially when I look at beef ribs and prime rib, dripping with all that fatty goodness.
So I started looking for information on the infamous parasitic catfish, aka the candiru, aka the toothpick fish, aka the dreaded peckerfish. The fish that I thought Rob was making up til I read a book on ethnobotanical research going on in the Amazon River Basin that mentioned it.
While the peckerfish is an amazing creature, it brought me into contact with this thing. It's a rather large mite that attaches itself to the tongue of certain types of fish & either eats the tongue or cuts off the blood flow to the tongue (I'm not clear on that point, some articles say one thing & the other articles say the other thing) & then remain latched onto the stump of the fish's tongue & steals its food. Bloggers have mentioned catching fish afflicted with said parasite & then the blogger goes ahead & eats the fish anyway, which... I dunno. I've eaten many strange things in my life, and will probably eat a few more before I die, but if I ever caught a fish & its tongue was looking at me, I don't think I could eat it. In fact, I'd be lucky if I could actually unhook it & throw it back. The thought of reaching into a fish's mouth to extract a hook & brushing my hand against one of those creepy crawlies is... just...
Yeah. Ew.
EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This would probably make a great meme.
10 Things I Didn't Need To Know About:
1) I could have gone my entire life never knowing about the tongue-eating fish parasite.
2) I also could have gone my entire life without hearing stories of spiders taking up residence in people's ears.
3) The guinea worm
4) I didn't need to know the tool used for liposuction is basically the same thing as a mortician's trocar - or that morticians are probably more delicate in wielding it than plastic surgeons.
5) The botfly
6) I didn't need to know that Charles Manson was born in 1934. He's one year older than my dad would be if my dad was still alive. My dad was younger than Charlie Manson. Good gods!
7) I know way more about Irritable Bowel Syndrome than someone who does not have it should know.
8) I didn't need to know that Scientologists believe they were left here by aliens. I pride myself on being tolerant & accepting, and the whole Scientology thing really pushes my boundaries of acceptance and tolerance.
9) I didn't need to know about mucous plugs.
10) Even though I am morbidly obsessed with all things pertaining to death, I don't think I ever needed to know about grave wax. Adipocere. Not on my need-to-know list, especially when I look at beef ribs and prime rib, dripping with all that fatty goodness.
