Pelagic goose barnacle, common goose barnacle, goose neck barnacle, pelagic goose neck barnacle • Lepas anatifera
and Hill's goose neck barnacle • Lepas hillii
Left: Pelagic goose barnacles attached driftwood and other debris from the open ocean. with dark stalks visible. Photos by Brian Starzomski (left), Jenn Burt (top right), and Kira Hoffman (bottom right).
Identification
The pelagic goose barnacle is readily identifiable by its pearly blue-white protective plates, which are striated, and the dark blue to black stalk that attaches it to substrates. The stalks (peduncles) generally grow to around 15 cm long, though they can reach lengths of up to 80 cm, like in this photo. The "head" (capitulum) can reach 7 cm across, but is more commonly around 5 cm. Lepas anatifera has 2 filamentous appendages on each side of the body; Lepas hillii has 3.
Habitat & Range
The pelagic goose barnacle is not truly an intertidal species: it is found on floating objects in the pelagic (open) ocean, but can found by beachcombers when its host object, such as driftwood and other debris, is washed ashore. This generally causes mass mortality, unless the object is washed back out into the open ocean.
This species is found nearly everywhere in the world, though it is more common in tropical and subtropical areas and is unable to reproduce if it drifts into waters that are too cold.
The pelagic goose barnacle is readily identifiable by its pearly blue-white protective plates, which are striated, and the dark blue to black stalk that attaches it to substrates. The stalks (peduncles) generally grow to around 15 cm long, though they can reach lengths of up to 80 cm, like in this photo. The "head" (capitulum) can reach 7 cm across, but is more commonly around 5 cm. Lepas anatifera has 2 filamentous appendages on each side of the body; Lepas hillii has 3.
Habitat & Range
The pelagic goose barnacle is not truly an intertidal species: it is found on floating objects in the pelagic (open) ocean, but can found by beachcombers when its host object, such as driftwood and other debris, is washed ashore. This generally causes mass mortality, unless the object is washed back out into the open ocean.
This species is found nearly everywhere in the world, though it is more common in tropical and subtropical areas and is unable to reproduce if it drifts into waters that are too cold.
Similar Species The goose neck barnacle, or goose barnacle (Pollicipes polymerus), may be mistaken for the pelagic goose barnacle only in name as the species are very distinct. The goose neck barnacle has numerous plates, compared to the two of the goose barnacle. Intriguing Info In the 1200's goose neck barnacles and barnacle geese (Branta leucopsis) were thought to be linked. People believe that the barnacles arose from the wood they were often found floating on and that the geese might be generated the same way, or that the geese may come from the barnacles themselves. iNaturalist https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/69949-Lepas-anatifera https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/546703-Lepas-hillii |
References
Harbo, R. M. (1999). Whelks to whales: Coastal marine life of the Pacific Northwest. Madeira Park, BC: Harbour Publishing. P. 85.
Goose barnacle (Lepas anatifera). ARKive.org. Accessed 29/03/2013.
Lepas anatifera. Marine Species Identification Portal. Accessed 29/03/2013.
Authors and editors of page
Chanda Brietzke and Brian Starzomski (2013).
Harbo, R. M. (1999). Whelks to whales: Coastal marine life of the Pacific Northwest. Madeira Park, BC: Harbour Publishing. P. 85.
Goose barnacle (Lepas anatifera). ARKive.org. Accessed 29/03/2013.
Lepas anatifera. Marine Species Identification Portal. Accessed 29/03/2013.
Authors and editors of page
Chanda Brietzke and Brian Starzomski (2013).