PARASITIC BARNACLE Heterosaccus californicus SHEEP CRAB Loxorhynchus grandis Welcome to a freakish world where parasites compel their hosts to do their bidding. A male sheep crab infected by a parasitic barnacle is literally feminized. It stops developing fighting claws, and its abdomen widens, providing a “womb” for the barnacle to fill with its brood pouch. Nurtured by the crab, the eggs hatch. Thousands of baby barnacles disperse to infect anew.
