Sacculina Carcini

a parasitic marine crustacean of the suborder Rhizocephala of the order Cirripedia. The saclike body has rootlike appendages that thread through the body of the crab that the crustacean parasitizes. Four or five days after the larvae, or nauplii, hatch from the eggs, they metamorphose into cypris larvae, which are clad in a bivalve shell, and convert to a parasitic way of life. After attaching itself to a crab, the larva discards its trunk portion, which includes the extremities and the shell. The remaining head portion embeds itself in the crab and metamorphoses into a hermaphroditic adult individual.

References in periodicals archive ?

The parasitic rhizocephalan barnacle Sacculina carcini in crabs of the Forth Estuary, Scotland.

First studies on morphometric relationships and size at maturity of the red crab Platyxanthus patagonicus (Milne-Edwards) and variations caused by Rhizocephalan infestation, in the San Matias Gulf, Patagonia, Argentina

One harmful parasite--discovered in 1995--is Sacculina carcini, a barnacle, or microscopic animal that usually lives on rocks (see pictures, left).

ANIMAL PARASITES

At the meeting, Kuris described his studies of a parasitic barnacle, Sacculina carcini, that sterilizes male and female green crabs.

European crab leaps to Pacific prominence

In particular, in-depth studies of two parasitic castrators, Sacculina carcini and Portunion maenadis, are available.

The parasitic barnacle Sacculina carcini presently seems the best candidate for biological control as the Rhizocephala are highly host-specific parasitic castrators that can theoretically control host populations.

Seasonal changes in a population of Sacculina carcini Thompson (Crustacea: Rhizocephala) in Scotland.