Tiny, carnivorous critters wreak havoc along the California coast, feasting on beachgoers’ feet, causing pain and bleeding.
The tiny-looking beach bugs live in the sand and can travel in swarms of up to 1,000 critters and are known to feed on dead fish and also have been known to attack humans.
The “mini-shark” isopods, known officially as Excirolana chiltoni, or water-line isopods, have reportedly been attacking the feet of beachgoers visiting Mission Bay. Citizens around the area say the tiny bug-like creatures swarmed their feet when they put them in the water, biting and latching onto them.
Here’s what San Diego resident Tara Sauvage told CBS8:
“It was painful! I was like uh! I jumped out of the water and this was so shocking. I had blood all over my foot and in between my toes, I pulled my foot out. I had blood all over my foot. It was like small piranhas had bit me,” she said.
The flesh-eating bugs can grow up to 0.3 inches long surfacing around the coast once a year. The pain seemed to fade after around 15 to 20 minutes, so it wasn’t a lasting pain, according to Live Science.
Live Science also reported that the water-line isopods are usually found all year in California, as well as other areas of the Pacific Northwest in the United States and Canada. The outlet said isolated group attacks do not often occur repeatedly in one area, though it has been reported in the past.
More details of this report from Western Journal:
In 1993, the Los Angeles Times reported an attack by the bugs at Newport Beach in early June, which it said was earlier than usual. In one instance, 2-year-old Crystal Johnston had the bugs crawl into her diaper and start biting her.
Her father, 36-year-old Craig Johnston, said he found out what was happening after she suddenly began crying while playing in the water.
“They drew some blood,” Johnston said. “It happened so fast.”
Richard Brusca, who was the curator of crustaceans at the San Diego Natural History Museum at the time, described a typical attack from the water-line isopods.
“They can be pretty nasty when they get going,” Brusca said. “They’re somewhere between a wolf pack and a pack of mosquitoes. They’re like mini-sharks.”
Multiple scientists told Live Science that while the bites are certainly unpleasant, they are not a cause for long-term concern.
These isopods are a type of crustacean that also includes more than 10,000 marine, freshwater, and terrestrial species, ranging in size from tiny creatures like Excirolana chiltoni to 10-inch ones roaming the seafloor.
And if you are bitten, get out of the water to avoid large swarms of these mini-shark isopods.
Watch the video report here: CBS8/Youtube
Sources: WesternJournal, KFMB-TV, Live Science, Los Angeles Times
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