merry christmas.

wikipedia: the parasite enters through the gills, and then attaches itself at the base of the spotted rose snapper's tongue. it then proceeds to extract blood through the claws on its front and less blood reaches the tongue, and eventually the organ atrophies from lack of blood. the parasite then replaces the fish's tongue by attaching its own body to the muscles of the tongue stub. the fish is able to use the parasite just like a normal tongue. it appears that the parasite does not cause any other damage to the host fish. once C. exigua replaces the tongue, some feed on the host's blood and many others feed on fish mucus. they do not eat scraps of the fish's food. this is the only known case of a parasite functionally replacing a host organ.