Cymothoa exigua

Tongue-eating Louse

As recorded: Cymothoa exigua Schioedte & Meinert, 1884

Animalia › Arthropoda › Malacostraca › Isopoda › Cymothoidae

Collected by: A. Fielding
Locality: Enewetak Atoll
Island: Enewetak Atoll
Region: Marshall Islands
Depth: 7 m
Identified by: K. Lee 2023
Record type: Preserved specimen

Cymothoa exigua observed alive

Since 2000, iNaturalist observers have recorded 14 research-grade sightings in the wild, most recently on 2026-08-09.

2026-08-09

La Chorrera, Provincia de Panamá Oeste, Panamá

(c) joseph diaz, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

2025-11-23

Bahía de Parita, Panamá

(c) Calixto Barrera M, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

2025-04-06

5P38+7GV, Managua, Nicaragua

(c) Esperanza, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

2024-11-24

Bahía de Parita, Panamá

(c) Calixto Barrera M, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

2024-10-23

Bahía Puerto Escondido, MX

(c) Daniel Peralta Mateos, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

2023-07-10

Avalon, CA 90704, USA

(c) tmagdych, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

Observations and photos from iNaturalist, shown only when openly licensed.

Cite this specimen

Cymothoa exigua. BPBM 20359. Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, Honolulu. GBIF occurrence 4979269408. Accessed via explore.bishopmuseum.org/specimens/s/20359.

Record sources

GBIF occurrence 4979269408 ↗
Data license: CC_BY_4_0
Last harvested October 26, 2026