It has taken us a lot of time to work out the most revolting thing in our museum, which is after all supposed to be a collection of beautiful things, but after a seconds thought we have decided it is The Tongue Eating Louse – Cymothea exigua – removed from the mouth of a Colorado Snapper caught by Viktor Wynd, Costa Rica, 2014 -this parasitic isopod – related to the woodlouse –bites off a fishes tongue, attaches itself to the stump, dines of fresh blood and replaces the tongue. Apparently this does no serious harm to the fish that continues to live healthily and is the only known instance of a parasite replacing an organ. Other highlights of the collection include a cows stomach infested by Bot Flies, a German 19th Century Wax Model of a Scabies Mite and of course intestinal worms.
