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Californians plagued with feet-eating 'mini-shark' bugs
People enjoy on the beach of the Pacific Ocean in Half Moon Bay, California, United States on September 1, 2022 as the heat wave is expected in California this weekend. (Photo by Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) Beach goers in Southern California are being targeted by swarms of tiny, aggressive sea bugs who have an appetite for human feet. The bugs, who have earned the nickname "mini shark," have been identified as water-line isopods (Excirolana chiltoni), a crustacean species that grows to be around 0.3 inches (0.8 centimeters) long and can form swarms of more than 1,000 individuals, according to Walla Walla University in Washington. TROPICAL STORM DANIELLE FORMS IN THE ATLANTIC OCEAN, NOT CURRENTLY A THREAT TO LANDThe "mini-sharks" live in the shallow waters of the Pacific Ocean and seasonally migrate up and down the coast leaving in their wake beach goers hopping in pain.The bugs quickly find barefoot waders, and will bite into their flesh, drawing blood.