9 Creepy Parasites You'll NEVER Want to Encounter

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Published on December 4, 2018 2:00:01 PM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcwxyjQ_QDE

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Creepy parasites you'll never want to encounter. Let's take a look at some parasites that lay eggs in other animal species & small creatures that attach themselves on others for years.


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Voiceover by Carl Mason: carlito1705@icloud.com


Number 9 Tarantula Hawk
Tarantula hawks are wasps that, much as their name implies, mainly go for tarantulas. The tarantula hawk is known as a parasitoid wasp. It will first grip the tarantula using the hooked claws at the end of its long legs. The wasp will then lay a single egg in the tarantula’s abdomen and cover the entrance. As the larva hatches, it enters the tarantula’s body and begins to feed. Ultimately, the wasp emerges from the spider’s abdomen as an adult.
Number 8 Anelasma Squalicola
Anelasma squalicola may be the only living representative of a barnacle species that made the transition from filter-feeding to parasitism. This is evident in the fact that the cirri, structures once used for filtering food items, are present but no longer serve a feeding function. As a parasite, Anelasma extracts nutrition from its host through hidden tendrils that extend downwards from its body. Unlike most other barnacles, Anelasma squalicola doesn’t have a shell. Anelasma attach themselves to several species of deep-sea dwelling sharks.
Number 7 Trebius Shiinoi
Trebius Shiinoi larvae, which typically infect Japanese angel sharks, will seek out the reproductive canal of a female host. Trebius Shiinoi belongs to a broad category of parasitic crustaceans known as anchor worms. Once such a parasite latches on to a host, it cements its head into the tissue and loses all of its limbs. It then starts maturing into a worm-like tassel which is soft and immobile.
Number 6 Epioplasma Triquetra
This freshwater mollusk is native to North America, where it’s listed as an endangered species. In 2004 it was discovered that Epioplasma triquetra, also known as the snuffbox mollusk, engages in a behavior when it spreads its larvae. During the larval stage, these mollusks are known to use the skin, fins or gills of a host fish for nutrients. The female snuffbox will first lure unsuspecting fish to them. Then, using its shell, lined with sharp little teeth, it will clamp down on the fish’s head and proceed to pump the larvae into its gills.
Number 5 Tapeworms
Tapeworms have a well-earned reputation as some of the worst parasites in the world, particularly for what they can do to humans. Once there, the eggs hatch and the larvae become adults by feeding on nutrients in the intestinal wall. Some adult tapeworms are hermaphrodites they can produce more eggs. During this time they can also grow to incredible lengths and there have been reports of tapeworms that measured up to 30 feet from end to end.
Number 4 Macrocheles Rettenmeyeri
This tiny mite is known for its rather fascinating parasitic relationship with the ant. However, this doesn’t mean the ant has lost the functioning of its leg. The mite will use its own legs whenever pressed against a surface. The mite doesn’t disrupt its host as the main objective is to feed. The parasite basically acts as a foot, albeit a slightly more effective one as it has eight tiny feet at the end of it. This might prove particularly useful for ants, as they are known to create linking structures. The mites were named after American biologist Carl Rettenmeyer, who was the first to study them. In his extensive work on parasitic mites living with ants, Rettenmeyer also observed other mite species, some of which lived in the ants’ eyes or at the base of their mandibles.
Number 3 Ribeiroia
Flatworms from the Ribeiroia genus have been linked with causing the development of limb malformations in toads, frogs and salamander species. Ribeiroia ondatrae cercariae, for example, are known to infect the developing limbs of amphibians in their larval state. They drill themselves into the buds that will eventually grow into legs. This can cause horrible malformations which often consist of misshapen, extraneous members. After about six weeks, they enter a second, free-swimming form called cercariae. That’s when they’ll become attached to amphibian larvae or fish, where they enter a dormant parasite form called metacercariae.
Number 2 Sacculina Carcini
While it’s doing this it will release a sac on the underside of the abdomen. One part of the parasite will develop into tendrils that grow throughout the insides, absorbing nourishment and controlling the behavior. The parasite manipulates the behavior of its host to the point that it no longer grows, moults or regenerates lost limbs.
Number 1 Cymothoa Exigua
The parasite then attaches itself to the remaining stub and functionally acts as the fish’s tongue.