Degeneration of the tongue of Boops [(Boops boops L., 1758) (Teleost, Sparidae)] parasitized by Meinertia oestroides (Risso, 1826) (Isopoda, Flabellifera, Cymothoidae) (author's transl)

Host fishes (Boops boops) parasitized by the cymothoid isopod Meinertia oestroides show an atrophied tonuge: its length and its initial weight can decrease of about 50%. These morphological variations are connected with deep histological alterations, such as: A more or less important vanishing of epidermis. A disorganization of the connective tissue, by numerous invading blood cells. A total vanishing of cargilage and a partial vanishing of bone, resulting from the lysis of their own fundamental substance.