TIL there is a meat loving sea fleas that casually nibble on your skin at the beach but in rare sever cases it can cause real injuries

I will never again question the need for that extra protective lining around the gonads in a swimsuit.

IN WHAT CASES

what a wonderful time to never go to the beach again

There's a species of fish that will do this too... except they have a taste for dead/dry skin. It's supposed to very... exfoliating...

https://www.cdc.gov/hygiene/personal-hygiene/feet.html#:~:text=Garra rufa are sometimes referred,with skin diseases%2C like psoriasis.

This is the best summary I could come up with:

The “meat-loving” marine creature that ate at the legs of a Melbourne teenager has been identified as a flesh-eating sea flea, known as a lysianassid amphipod.

Marine biologist Dr Genefor Walker-Smith said the creatures, which left 16-year-old Sam Kanizay with significant bleeding from his legs, were a small, scavenging crustacean that usually fed on dead fish or sea birds.

Kanizay said on Monday he was soaking his legs at Brighton beach when he felt the creatures attack, causing wounds that would not stop bleeding.

But Walker-Smith told the ABC’s RN Breakfast program the amphipods posed no risk to the public and that it was safe to go back into the water.

It was a combination of cold water numbing Kanizay’s legs, bad luck, and standing still that led to an exceptional number of bites.

Walker-Smith, who examined samples of the amphipods obtained by the family, said they were a natural part of the marine ecosystem that performed a vital role in the food web.

The original article contains 420 words, the summary contains 164 words. Saved 61%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

The candiru swim up the urethra https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candiru_(fish)