''Heterosaccus'' is a genus of

barnacles A barnacle is a type of arthropod constituting the subclass Cirripedia in the subphylum Crustacea, and is hence related to crabs and lobsters. Barnacles are exclusively marine, and tend to live in shallow and tidal waters, typically in erosive ...

in infraclass

Rhizocephala Rhizocephala are derived barnacles that parasitise mostly decapod crustaceans, but can also infest Peracarida, mantis shrimps and thoracican barnacles, and are found from the deep ocean to freshwater. Together with their sister groups Thoracica ...

. Like other taxa in this group, they

parasitize Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson has c ...

crabs. Geoffroy Smith circumscribed the genus in 1906; he initially only included ''H. hians''. Smith circumscribed a genus distinct from ''

Sacculina ''Sacculina'' is a genus of barnacles that is a parasitic castrator of crabs. They belong to a group called ''Rhizocephala''. The adults bear no resemblance to the barnacles that cover ships and piers; they are recognised as barnacles because ...

'' due to a difference of the

mesentery The mesentery is an organ that attaches the intestines to the posterior abdominal wall in humans and is formed by the double fold of peritoneum. It helps in storing fat and allowing blood vessels, lymphatics, and nerves to supply the intestines ...

; in ''Heterosaccus'', the mesentery does not stretch down to the mantle opening but rather only is present on the ring of attachment.

Species

WoRMS Worms may refer to: *Worm, an invertebrate animal with a tube-like body and no limbs Places *Worms, Germany, a city **Worms (electoral district) *Worms, Nebraska, U.S. *Worms im Veltlintal, the German name for Bormio, Italy Arts and entertainme ...

recognizes the following fifteen species.

Species

References

Further reading