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Gray whale rostrum covered in the endemic Cryptolepas rhachianecti barnacles and cyamids often called whale lice. Whale barnacles typically attach to baleen whales and have a commensal relationship–the barnacle benefits and the whale is neither helped nor harmed. [3] A single humpback whale may carry up to 450 kg (990 lb) of barnacles. [21]
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]
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.
Whale louse infestations are especially evident in right whales, where colonies propagate on their callosities. [102] Though not a parasite, whale barnacles latch onto the skin of a whale during their larval stage. However, in doing so it does not harm nor benefit the whale, so their relationship is often labeled as an example of commensalism ...
The species is now only known from the northern Pacific Ocean where gray whales are found. The gray whale was present in the northern Atlantic Ocean between the Late Pleistocene and recent times, and C. rhachianecti fossils have been found on a beach in the Netherlands, showing that the barnacle must also have been present. [3]
Around 7,500 whale lice live on a single whale. [3] With some species of whale louse, whale barnacle infestations play an important role. On the right whale, the parasites live mainly on callosities (raised callus-like patches of skin on the whales' heads). The clusters of white lice contrast with the dark skin of the whale, and help ...
Most barnacles are encrusters, attaching themselves to a hard substrate such as a rock, the shell of a mollusc, or a ship; or to an animal such as a whale (whale barnacles). The most common form, acorn barnacles , are sessile , growing their shells directly onto the substrate, whereas goose barnacles attach themselves by means of a stalk.
The strict definition of phoresis excludes cases in which the relationship is permanent (e.g. that of a barnacle surviving on a whale), or those in which the phoront gains any kind of advantage from the host organism (e.g. remoras attaching to sharks for transportation and food). [3]