Gooseneck Barnacle
Pollicipes polymerusDescription
- Goose barnacles (order Pedunculata), also called stalked barnacles or gooseneck barnacles, are filter-feeding crustaceans that live attached to hard surfaces of rocks and flotsam in the ocean intertidal zone
- All goose barnacles have five plates
Range
- Southern Alaska to at last Punta Abreojos, Baja California
Habitat
- The goose-neck barnacle is a common inhabitant in the intertidal zone of rocky shores especially in association with the California mussel
- Observed at rocky shores and rock jetties leading into bays
Diet
- Feeds by growing outward so that it can extend its cirri in a fan oriented perpendicular to the backwash of the waves
- Small particles of detritus and tiny crustaceans get caught in the cirri, which are subsequently eaten
Interesting Facts
- The stalk of this animal has been used in the preparation of a chowder
- Barnacle has been found on humpback whales
Reproduction