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Whale barnacles are species of acorn barnacle that belong to the family Coronulidae. They typically attach to baleen whales, and sometimes settle on toothed whales. The whale barnacles diverged from the turtle barnacles about three million years ago. Whale barnacles passively filter food, using tentacle-like cirri, as the host swims
The cirri extend to filter food, such as plankton, from the water and move it towards the mouth. [9] Acorn barnacles are attached to the substratum by cement glands that form the base of the first pair of antennae; in effect, the animal is fixed upside down by means of its forehead. In some barnacles, the cement glands are fixed to a long ...
Most crustaceans are free-living aquatic animals, but some are terrestrial (e.g. woodlice, sandhoppers), some are parasitic (e.g. Rhizocephala, fish lice, tongue worms) and some are sessile (e.g. barnacles). The group has an extensive fossil record, reaching back to the Cambrian.
This barnacle has been found between January and March for several years in captive beluga whales in San Diego Bay, near a route used by migratory gray whales. The barnacles have evoked a skin reaction in the beluga whales resulting in the eviction of the barnacles, which suggests an immune response.
The whales eat amphipod crustaceans like tiny shrimp and worms, which they consume by sucking up water and sediment from the seafloor, where such creatures live, then using their baleens to filter ...
Xenobalanus globicipitis is a species of pseudo-stalked barnacle. [1] It is usually spotted on the appendages of at least 34 species of cetaceans , commonly baleen whales and bottlenose dolphins . This species is not technically a true stalked barnacle , hence the 'pseudo' in its name.
The free-swimming nauplius larvae form part of the plankton and pass through six moults before becoming non-feeding cyprid larvae. Laboratory experiments suggest that the cyprid larvae are induced to settle and undergo metamorphosis into juvenile barnacles in response to chemical cues from the skin of suitable host whales. [7]
It feeds on plankton and as well as catching food particles, it pumps water through its mantle cavity. The faster the beating, the more water is pumped and the volume may reach one litre per hour. Slow beat rates are linked to pauses while the cirri are retracted rather than a reduction in the speed of movement of the cirri.