Occurrence of nematode larvae in terrestial hermitcerab coenolita scaevala forskol from Safaga region, Egypt

This work represented a new host, the terrestrial hermit crab Coenobita scaevola Forskal, and new locality records for the larval nematode, Ascarophis from Safaga City. The results showed a direct relationship between the host size [carapace length] and the prevalence rate of infected specimens. Larval nematodes were rarely found in specimens smaller than 17 mm in carapace length. Also, the fecundity of infected crabs was less than that of the normal ones. Two types of host tissue response to infection were represented by muscular and hemocytic capsules around the larval nematodes