Thursday 16 June 2016

GOBLIN SHARK

Mitsukurina owstoni also known as goblin shark is a fan of darkness, it does not like sunlight maybe that's why some people refer to it as vampire sharks. I do refer to it as seanicorn from the word unicorn. They feed on creatures deep down in the ocean like crabs, sting ray, etc.

When approaching prey, their jaw goes out and with a sucking motion they draw the into their mouths with powerful teeth waiting to crunch!  The Goblin Shark’s long, slender, exceptionally sharp fang-like teeth are connected to their protruding yet extremely soft and delicate jaws.
The jaws can protrude during eating,giving the goblin a very unusual look. This elongated snout may contain electrosensory canals. Below is a video on our guest...

THE TOUNGE-EATING LOUSE



Cymothoa exigua, or the tongue-eating louse, is a parasite of the family  Cymothoidae. This parasite enters fish through the gills, and then attaches itself to the fish's tongue. The female attaches to the tongue and the male attaches on the gill arches beneath and behind the female. Females are 8–29mm and 4–14mm in maximum width. Males are approximately 7.5–15mm and 3–7mm wide. The parasite severs the blood vessels in the fish's tongue, causing the tongue to fall off. It then attaches itself to the stub of what was once its tongue and becomes the fish's new tongue.

They cause loss of blood by using their claws to extract blood from the host after which they replace the host's tongue with their body. *weird*  



It reproduces sexually,  It is likely that juveniles first attach to the gills of a fish and become males. As they mature, they become females, with mating likely occurring on the gills. If there is no female present, within a pair of two males, one male can turn into a female after it grows to 10mm. The female then makes its way to the fish's mouth where it uses its front claws to attach to the fish's tongue. 

It is of no record that this creature is dangerous to man, except if caught alive which may cause it to bite.