The Greater Weever or Trachinus draco is just one of the eight different species of Weever Fish. This fish can be extremely dangerous, because it has a series of spines that contain venom. This sting can be very painful if touched or stepped on. Like other Weever Fish, they often sit on the bottom with all of their bodies covered except their first set of dorsal fins. For this reason, unsuspecting swimmers often step on the Greater Weever and come away with some serious pain!
All this makes the Greater Weever an interesting fish, but get this, they can sometimes contain a tongue eating parasite that actually eats the fishes tongue! After their first meal, this parasite will act as the fishes tongue, living in its mouth and sharing the food that the fish eats. Unbelievably, this is the only ill effects that the parasite has on the fish, making for a very strange partnership of sorts. This makes this parasite the only one in the the world known that can actually replace an organ!Greater Weever fish are often found in places like the Eastern Atlantic, as well as the Mediterranean and Black Seas. They are not an extremely large saltwater fish only growing to about 53 cm and weighing in at no more than 1.86 kg. If you have additional information about the Greater Weever just leave a comment below!
