History Main / ProportionatelyPonderousParasites

** The giant fish Jabu-Jabu from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' and ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleOfAges'' serves as one both games' dungeons, and contains many monsters including a giant ElectricJellyfish.

When there are [[AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever monstrously large creatures]] roaming the country side, you can expect the things that live on them (be they parasitic or symbiotic) to also be monstrously large. The creepiest of BigCreepyCrawlies. They may be annoyances for their host, but for humans, they can be deadly. They're often monstrous or mutated just to be able to live on such gigantic life forms.

* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Chowder}}'' centered around Shnitzel and Chowder climbing a giant to make a delivery, and they run into a swarm of giant bugs along the way. The bugs appearing around waist level and Shniztel's [[YouDoNOTWantToKnow refusal]] to explain to Chowder where they came from [[GettingCrapPastTheRadar implies the bugs were equivalent to pubic lice.]]

->''And the great fleas themselves, in turn, have greater fleas to go on;''\\
''While these again have greater still, and greater still, and so on.''

!!Examples

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* The Creator/JunjiIto one-shot "The Thing That Drifted Ashore", the eponymous "[[SeaMonster thing]]" is a serpentine creature the size of a whale with a head resembling a mass of barnacles and translucent flesh which probably glowed when it was alive. Onlookers find its body is filled with smaller creatures through its clear skin, but in a horrifying twist on this trope [[spoiler: its parasites are humans that it consumed, who managed to survive being eaten by absorbing nutrients inside the creature's intestine. Understandably, they've all been driven insane after being trapped inside a sea monster for seven years]].

* The comic book ''ComicBook/{{GodzillaLegends}}'' has Godzilla, again, afflicted with a parasite. This time, it's a bird making a nest amidst its spines. The radioactivity mutated the birds into razor-beaked, multi-eyed freaks.

* Parodied in the Italian comic book ''Nilus'': in a strip a group of egyptian soldiers try to approach a sleeping [[OurGiantsAreBigger Goliath]] to capture him, but are forced to make a run for it when they're attacked by Goliath's dog-sized lices.

[[folder:Fanfiction]]

[[folder:Film]]

* ''Film/PacificRim'' has many appear on screen. They look like isopods, but are the size of footballs--just larger than the deep sea isopods found on the ocean floor. Strangely, they're [[UglyCute often considered to be fairly endearing]] creatures, and don't seem to pose any risk to humans.

** In ''Film/{{Godzilla 2014}}'' the Mutos' life cycle apparently involves multiple larvae infesting a Godzillasaur and pupating inside its body, similar to a Tarantula Hawk and related kinds of wasp. This gives them and Godzilla a pretty good justification for fighting beyond the fact that beating each other senseless while knocking over skyscrapers is just what kaijus do.
* ''Film/{{Cloverfield}}'' has its main monster, Clover, beset with extremely dangerous dog-sized "Flea" like creatures living on its hide. Their bite is extremely dangerous and they're about five feet long to boot. If anything they seem to be more dangerous on a personal level than Clover, which is just wandering around in confusion; the fleas actively hunt.

[[folder:Mythology]]

* In Myth/NorseMythology, the maggots that fed on the corpse of Ymir, of whom the earth was made, become [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame Dwarves]].

* One episode of WesternAnimation/CatScratch where they thawed out a woolly mammoth from a glacier, it came with fleas big enough for Waffle to ride on like a bucking bronco

When there are [[AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever monstrously large creatures]] roaming the country side, you can expect the things that live on them (be they parasitic or symbiotic) to be proportionally as large. The creepiest of BigCreepyCrawlies. They may be annoyances for their host, but for humans, they can be deadly. Often they are often more monstrous or mutated just to be able to live on such gigantic life forms.

** ''Film/TheReturnOfGodzilla'' started this trope in modern times possibly. Here, Godzilla is afflicted with 4 to 5ft long sea lice. They are called Shockirus.
** In ''Film/{{Godzilla 2014}}'' the Mutos life cycle apparently involves multiple larvae infesting a Godzillasaur and pupating inside its body, similar to a Tarantula Hawk and related kinds of wasp. This gives them and Godzilla a pretty good justification for fighting beyond the fact that beating each other senseless while knocking over skyscrapers is just what kaijus do.

* ''Film/LandOfTheLost'' has a scene where Will Ferrell's character gets a tick the size of a football.

* The comic book ''{{GodzillaLegends}}'' has Godzilla, again, afflicted with a parasite. This time, it's a bird making a nest amidst its spines. The radioactivity mutated the birds into razor-beaked, multi-eyed freaks.

* The comic book ''{{Godzilla Legends}}'' has Godzilla, again, afflicted with a parasite. This time, it's a bird making a nest amidst its spines. The radioactivity mutated the birds into razor-beaked, multi-eyed freaks.

* The comic book ''Godzilla Legends'' has Godzilla, again, afflicted with a parasite. This time, it's a bird making a nest amidst its spines. The radioactivity mutated the birds into razor-beaked, multi-eyed freaks.

* One episode of WesternAnimation/Catscratch where they thawed out a woolly mammoth from a glacier, it came with fleas big enough for Waffle to ride on like a bucking bronco

* ''Film/{{Cloverfield}}'' has its main monster, Clover, beset with extremely dangerous lion-sized "Flea" like creatures living on its hide. Their bite is extremely dangerous and they're about five feet long to boot. If anything they seem to be more dangerous on a personal level than Clover, which is just wandering around in confusion; the fleas actively hunt.

* In Myth/NorseMythology, the maggots that fed on the corps of Ymir, of whom the earth was made, become [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame Dwarves]].

->''And the great fleas themselves, in turn, have greater fleas to go on;''
->''While these again have greater still, and greater still, and so on.''

[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]

[[folder: Comic Books ]]

[[folder: Fanfiction ]]

[[folder: Film ]]

[[folder: Literature ]]

[[folder: Live-Action TV ]]

[[folder: Mythology ]]

[[folder: Tabletop Games ]]

* The gigantic behemoth corpse Juggernaut from ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}'' plays host to enormous carrion maggots, about the size of a cart horse. These are actually of greater use to the Mask of Winters than Juggernaut itself; he plans to breed them to the point where they burst out of the corpse entirely, and then set them on devouring his enemies in the Underworld.

[[folder: Video Games ]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]

[[folder: Real Life ]]

* In Creator/BrianAldiss' short story https://www.baen.com/Chapters/9781625793614/9781625793614___3.htm "Poor Little Warrior",]] a time-traveling big game hunter kills a brontosaurus (sic), only to be killed by the vermin swarming off its carcass.

* In a Creator/BrianAldiss' short story "Poor Little Warrior", a time-traveling big game hunter kills a brontosaurus (sic), only to be killed by the vermin swarming off its carcass.

* ''StarcraftII'': Zerg buildings contain short-lived tiny (relatively speaking, they look about the size of a human) organisms that are little more than teeth, claws, and legs, that swarm the closest enemy unit on the building's death.

* ''Film/PacificRim'' has many appear on screen. They look like isopods, but are the size of footballs--just larger than the deep sea isopods found on the ocean floor.

** ''Film/TheReturnOfGodzilla'' started this trope in modern times possibly. Here, Godzilla is afflicted with 4 to 5ft long sea lice. They are called Shokilas.

* ''Film/{{Cloverfield}}'' has its main monster, Clover, beset with extremely dangerous "Flea" like creatures living on its hide. Their bite is extremely dangerous and they're about five feet long to boot. If anything they seem to be more dangerous on a personal level than Clover, which is just wandering around in confusion; the fleas actively hunt.

[[folder: Live Action TV ]]

* ''Film/TheReturnOfGodzilla'' started this trope in modern times possibly. Here, Godzilla is afflicted with 4 to 5ft long sea lice. They are called Shokilas.

[[AC:Anime and Manga]]

[[AC:ComicBooks]]

[[AC:{{Fanfiction}}]]

[[AC:{{Film}}]]
* ''Film/PacificRim'' has many appear on screen. They look like isopods, but are the size of footballs--just larger than the deep sea isopods found on the ocean floor.

[[AC: Literature]]

[[AC: LiveActionTV]]

[[AC:Mythology]]

[[AC:TabletopGames]]

[[AC:VideoGames]]

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]

[[AC:{{RealLife}}]]

** The first boss of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess'' is a Deku Baba mutated until it's mouth can easily swallow you whole, leeching off a particularly gigantic tree.

* The gigantic behemoth corpse Juggernaut from ''{{Exalted}}'' plays host to enormous carrion maggots, about the size of a cart horse. These are actually of greater use to the Mask of Winters than Juggernaut itself; he plans to breed them to the point where they burst out of the corpse entirely, and then set them on devouring his enemies in the Underworld.