Infestation by the epibiont Octolasmis lowei in a portunid crab assemblage from a subtropical coast

ABSTRACT We investigated the infestation by Octolasmis lowei Darwin, 1851 in branchial chambers of the portunid Achelous spinimanus (Latreille, 1819), Arenaeus cribrarius (Lamarck, 1818), Callinectes danae Smith, 1869, and Callinectes ornatus Ordway, 1863. We evaluated how infestation is related to host maturity, molt stage, carapace width and sex. The infestation probability increases with host carapace width, and infested crabs were more likely to be adults in intermolt stage. Infestation prevalence did not differ between sexes, except for C. ornatus, in which females had higher infestation ...