Australian teen just 'unfortunate' to be attacked by meat-loving sea fleas

It's safe to go back in the water, says marine biologist who identified the miniature attackers as lysianassid amphipods

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.