Abstract
The purple globe crab, Randallia ornata (Randall, 1839) (Decapoda: Leucosiidae) is a common crustacean found on sandy beaches from Northern California to Baja California, Mexico. An undescribed species of Carcinonemertes, which shares biological features with a partially described worm from Tasmania was recovered from R. ornata. The worm reaches 10 mm in length and secretes a sturdy tube with a distinctive spiral shape. The total prevalence of the worm on R. ornatawas 70% (85% for ovigerous female crabs, 67% for post-ovigerous female crabs, and 45% for male crabs). Intensities reached 32 worms per crab. Adult worms were found in crab egg masses, regressed adults were recovered from under the abdomen of post-ovigerous females, and encysted juveniles were found on the gill lamellae of non-ovigerous female crabs and occasionally from the gill lamellae of male crabs.
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Sadeghian, P.S., Kuris, A.M. Distribution and abundance of a nemertean egg predator ( Carcinonemertes sp.) on a leucosiid crab, Randallia ornata. Hydrobiologia 456, 59–63 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1013051008210
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1013051008210