Crabs Dancing to the Tune of Root-headed Barnacle

Anubha Das and Atharv Das

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Nature never ceases to amaze us with its bizarre stories but probably the most intriguing ones are those involving host-parasite relationships. From zombie ants acting like a puppet in the hands of a fungus to rats where fear of cats turns into curiosity, leading to a fatal attraction as a protozoan (single-celled organism) parasite hijacks the brain, the list of jaw-dropping stories is really long. One such story involves a parasitic barnacle that doesn’t just stop at taking control over the body and brain of its host crab but goes a step ahead and renders its host sterile due to the degeneration of gonads. The story doesn’t end here as the castrated males turn feminised…read more on NOPR