Fact or Fiction? The Urethra Invading Fish:

The Amazon Basin harbors an amazing amount of biodiversity. Freshwater dolphins, bull sharks, vicious piranha, mammoth anacondas, and a myriad of other species all call the Amazon River home. Covering some 7 million square kilometers (2.7 million square miles), it is the largest drainage basin in the world. When talking about length, the river itself is regarded as the second longest river in the world (it is second only to the Nile), so it"s not too surprising that so many species call this water "home.”

The list of dangerous animals that resided here is quite extensive, but not every animal that is dangerous to humans is large in stature. In this case, the tiny creature is a small parasitic catfish that has a tendency to find its way into an orifice of a larger organism in order to suck its blood – sometimes, these larger organisms are humans. Meet one of the most surprising fish in the world, the Candiru.

Find out what threats this fish poses at:
http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/fact-or-fiction-the-urethra-invading-fish/

Image source:
Mike Gibbs/Getty Images

The Most Horrifying Parasite: The Sex-Changing Tongue-Eating Cymothoa exigua

Parasites are truly fascinating organisms, albeit somewhat disturbing at times. These organisms exploit other living creatures by forming a non-mutual relationship for their existence (in essence, the parasite is the only one who thrives). This usually means that the parasite harms their host for their sustenance (feeding off them in some way or another, or using them to reproduce themselves). These creatures are prime examples of evolution, as they have to overcome the host"s natural survival defenses. Unlike predation (where a larger animal hunts and kills a smaller prey), parasites are typically are much smaller than their unfortunate targets. Moreover, they are commonly ignored in food web diagrams, but if they had a place, they would dominate much of the web. What"s more, without parasites, organisms may start to favor asexual reproduction, and genetic biodiversity in the form of sexual dimorphism (the distinct differences in both male and female counterparts of a species) could be lost or hindered. Some parasites can also possibly facilitate the exchange of genetic material between species.

We have covered parasites several times in past here at FQTQ, and this write up today may possibly be the most horrifying yet. There are plenty of parasitic relationships in the open ocean, but this little critter is the stuff of which nightmares are truly formed. We can be thankful that organisms like this do not consider humans as host species (not yet). I would like to introduce you all to the Cymothoa exigua, or the tongue eating louse.

Cymothoa exigua is an isopod (like crabs or lobster) and is a fish parasite. This crustacean is a marine-louse, if you will. And in my opinion, is the epitome of the horror (and the wonder) that can be found in nature. Females can grow to about an inch in length and males about half that. It is the only known organism to emulate an entire organ for its host species, in this case, the poor fish"s tongue. It primarily targets the snapper, but has be seen in 7 other other fish species when the opportunity arises.

Want to know where these parasites mate? Find out, and discover more amazing information at: http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/the-most-horrifying-parasite-cymothoa-exigua/

(be warned, the answer isn"t pretty)

Image source:
http://blogueiros.axena.org/tag/cymothoa-exigua/

Parasites of the Marine World (1 of 2)

The deep ocean harbors a multitude of diversity. It is full of lifeforms of all kinds of exotic shapes and sizes, which really should be unsurprising to us, as life originated from the sea. The complexity is wondrous, and it is all driven by a network of global currents called "the grand conveyor." Organisms here employ a wide array of strategies to survive. Some ocean fauna, like whales, grow to immense sizes to avoid predation and to feast on smaller organisms. Some organisms form large armadas (called schools) to lay siege to habitats like coral reefs; these armadas all work together to nab unsuspecting prey. In the same way, some creatures exhibit cross species co-operation, a synergistic relationship that allow both animals to survive comfortably.

Then, there are the parasitic organisms. These are some of my favorite forms of life. Some fans here may recall a few articles in the past we covered on various kinds of these creatures on land, like the tarantula hawk, or "zombie snails or zombie ants". This time I am going to bring you into the bizarre world of marine parasites.

The first genus I would like to discuss is called Sacculina: the genus of barnacles that are parasitic castrators of crabs! You might be asking yourself (with an uneasy feeling inside), what exactly is a parasitic castrator? Well, there is no easy what to say this, but it literally injects itself into the crustacean, takes over the behavior of the crab, destroys its genitals, and begins a large egg sac growth in the destroyed region, mimicking the crabs eggs itself. Due to the behavior modification of the parasite, the crab thinks it is its very own eggs, even if it is a male crab. It will look after them in the same fashion, and acts like a female would in every way.

To read the full article, see: http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/parasites-of-the-marine-world-1-of-2/

Image source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacculina