Post by Admin on Mar 31, 2016 15:18:41 GMT
Name: Acorn barnacle (Semibalanus balanoides)
Kingdom: Animalia
Phyllum: Arthropoda
Subphyllum: Crustacea
Class: Maxillopoda
Order: Sessilia
Family: Archaeobalanidae
Genus: Semibalanus
Species: Semibalanus balanoides
IUCN Rating: Not Evaluated
Description: The shell-wall of the acorn barnacle consists of 6 greyish-white plates. The opening at the top of the 'cone' is diamond-shaped,
Range: The acorn barnacle has been recorded in the north-east Atlantic from Spitsbergen to north-west Spain however it is strangely absent from the Biscay coast of France,it has also been found on the Atlantic coast as far south as Cape Hatteras. The acorn barnacle is also found on the Pacific coast of north America as far south as British Columbia.
Habitat: Rocky shores
Diet: Filters particles of food from the water.
Breeding: Barnacles are hermaphrodites. They mate by extending their penis into the nearest barnacle to them. One barnacle may produce up to 10,000 eggs.
Threats: Humans, dog whelks and nudibranches.
Points of interest: Due to the stationary nature of the acorn barnacle it has developed an extremely long penis so that it can reach nearby barnacles. Much of the information we currently know about barnacles comes from the 8 years of research that Charles Darwin dedicated to them.
Sources and further information:
www.arkive.org/acorn-barnacle/semibalanus-balanoides/
animaldiversity.org/accounts/Semibalanus_balanoides/
Kingdom: Animalia
Phyllum: Arthropoda
Subphyllum: Crustacea
Class: Maxillopoda
Order: Sessilia
Family: Archaeobalanidae
Genus: Semibalanus
Species: Semibalanus balanoides
IUCN Rating: Not Evaluated
Description: The shell-wall of the acorn barnacle consists of 6 greyish-white plates. The opening at the top of the 'cone' is diamond-shaped,
Range: The acorn barnacle has been recorded in the north-east Atlantic from Spitsbergen to north-west Spain however it is strangely absent from the Biscay coast of France,it has also been found on the Atlantic coast as far south as Cape Hatteras. The acorn barnacle is also found on the Pacific coast of north America as far south as British Columbia.
Habitat: Rocky shores
Diet: Filters particles of food from the water.
Breeding: Barnacles are hermaphrodites. They mate by extending their penis into the nearest barnacle to them. One barnacle may produce up to 10,000 eggs.
Threats: Humans, dog whelks and nudibranches.
Points of interest: Due to the stationary nature of the acorn barnacle it has developed an extremely long penis so that it can reach nearby barnacles. Much of the information we currently know about barnacles comes from the 8 years of research that Charles Darwin dedicated to them.
Sources and further information:
www.arkive.org/acorn-barnacle/semibalanus-balanoides/
animaldiversity.org/accounts/Semibalanus_balanoides/