https://www.yahoo.com/news/australia-flesh-eating-sea-fleas-112526510.html
Mysterious sea creatures that began eating a teenager’s legs in Australia were identified as “sea fleas” on Monday.
The incident occurred near Melbourne on Saturday, when 16-year-old Sam Kanizay emerged from an evening dip in the ocean with his legs and feet covered in blood, the result of the considerable appetite of the flesh-eating tiny creatures.
Unable to walk, the teenager was brought to a hospital suffering from “pin-sized holes” that were bleeding profusely.
Kanizay went back to the beach with a pool net full of meaty bait to attract the creatures, and filmed them. “What is really clear is these little things really love meat,” he quipped as the animals devoted their attentions to the steak.
Sam Kanizay's father Jarrod filmed the creatures that he believed were responsible for his son's bleeding wounds. Jarrod Kanizay/Storyful
Thanks to his video, experts were able to confidently identify the creatures as lysianassid amphipods, a type of scavanger shrimp-like crustacean commonly known as “sea fleas.”
Mysterious sea creatures that began eating a teenager’s legs in Australia were identified as “sea fleas” on Monday.
The incident occurred near Melbourne on Saturday, when 16-year-old Sam Kanizay emerged from an evening dip in the ocean with his legs and feet covered in blood, the result of the considerable appetite of the flesh-eating tiny creatures.
Unable to walk, the teenager was brought to a hospital suffering from “pin-sized holes” that were bleeding profusely.
Kanizay went back to the beach with a pool net full of meaty bait to attract the creatures, and filmed them. “What is really clear is these little things really love meat,” he quipped as the animals devoted their attentions to the steak.
Sam Kanizay's father Jarrod filmed the creatures that he believed were responsible for his son's bleeding wounds. Jarrod Kanizay/Storyful
Thanks to his video, experts were able to confidently identify the creatures as lysianassid amphipods, a type of scavanger shrimp-like crustacean commonly known as “sea fleas.”