General Description

Side plates wide and white at the end of a smooth stalk. Up to 7 cm long.

Biology

Goose Barnacles form dense populations attached to floating object such as oceanic drift wood. Colonies of multiple barnacles can wash ashore, still attached to their floating home. The stranded colony may survive a short time on the beach during which time their specialised feathery feeding legs (cirri) can be seen moving, but they will not last long in this environment. The species differ in the shape of the side plates: some have triangular plates, others have rounded or longer plates. They only survive a short time if washed onto the beach.

Distribution

Worldwide. Southern Australia.

Habitat

Open ocean, attached to floating debris, such as wood. Sometimes found washed up on beaches.

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