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search Anilocra capensis on Lithognathus aureti.jpg Anilocra
capensis on Lithognathus aureti Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Subphylum: Crustacea Class:
Malacostraca Order: Isopoda Suborder: Cymothoida Family:
Cymothoidae Leach, 1818 [1]  c. 40; see text  The Cymothoidae
are a family of isopods in the order Cymothoida and are found in
both marine and freshwater environments. Cymoithoids are
ectoparasites, usually of fish, and among their number they
include the bizarre "tongue-biter" (Cymothoa exigua) which
attaches to a fish's tongue causing it to atrophy, and replaces
the tongue with its own body.[2] Around 40 genera and more than
380 species of cymothoid are recognised.[3]   Cymothoids exhibit
various adaptations to their carnivorous and parasitic
lifestyles. As juveniles they are not specific in their
requirements and attach themselves temporarily to the skin of
any fish. They produce anticoagulants and suck the fish