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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. [8]
Gooseneck barnacles, sea mussels and several species of acorn barnacles soon follow. Further competition is provided by sea palms, the large holdfasts of which may smother or squeeze out the molluscs and barnacles. Sea palms may settle on the mussels and may be carried away in storms, taking the mussels with them.
After about three months in the nursery, mussel seed is "socked" (placed in a tube-like mesh material) and hung on longlines or rafts for grow-out. Within a few days, the mussels migrate to the outside of the sock for better access food sources in the water column. Mussels grow quickly and are usually ready for harvest in less than two years.
"The goose-tree" from Gerard's Herbal (1597), displaying the belief that goose barnacles produced barnacle geese.. In the days before birds were known to migrate, barnacle geese, Branta leucopsis, were thought to have developed from this crustacean through spontaneous generation, since they were never seen to nest in temperate Europe, [4] hence the English names "goose barnacle" and "barnacle ...
They are commonly found in the upper intertidal zone on mussels, rocks and pier pilings. [1] They can obtain oxygen from both water and air. [2] This acorn barnacle is a moderate-sized one with a diameter of up to 22 mm (0.9 in). [1] The shell is formed by overlapping plates and has a calcareous basis.
The rostrum overlaps the wall plates and the terga form a beak when the barnacle is closed. There is a sinuous line at the junction between the tergum and the scutum. This is a large species of barnacle and can grow to a diameter of 6 cm (2.4 in), but when densely packed together, individuals may be much taller than they are wide.
Perna viridis, known as the Asian green mussel, is an economically important mussel, a bivalve belonging to the family Mytilidae, or the "true mussels". It is harvested for food but is also known to harbor toxins [ citation needed ] and cause damage to submerged structures such as drainage pipes.
Group of buoy barnacles attached to a float they constructed themselves. The buoy barnacle (Dosima fascicularis) is a species of goose barnacle known for its unique characteristic of hanging downwards from a floating appendage which drifts at the water surface and is carried along by ocean currents.