The Burrowing Barnacles 

 (Cirripedia: Order Acrothoracica) 



History 



The study of the order Acrothoracica began in 1849, when Hancock 

 discovered in shells of the gastropod Fusils and Buccinum a highly 

 modified barnacle which he named Alcippe lampas. Darwin placed 

 Alcippe in the Lepadidae very close to Alepas and Anelasma, although 

 he recognized the great similarity to his Cryptophialus. For the latter 

 he established a new order, the Abdominalia (1854). Noll (1872b) 

 placed Alcippe with Cryptophialus in the Abdominalia. In 1905 

 Gruvel noticed the misconception upon which the name of Abdom- 

 inalia was based, i.e., the cirri on the terminal segments of the body 

 being of a thoracic nature rather than abdominal appendages, as 

 Darwin had erroneously assumed. Gruvel changed the name Abdom- 

 inalia to Acrothoracica and placed within this new order the genera 

 Alcippe, Cryptophialus, Kochlorine Noll (1872a), and Lithoglyptes 

 Aurivillius (1892). Norman (1903) noticed the synonymy of Alcippe 

 with Blyth's genus of birds and changed the name to Trypetesa, 

 although many subsequent workers failed to notice this. Berndt 

 (1903a, 1903b, 1907b) and Kuhnert (1934) have reported on the anat- 

 omy and development of these animals. Additional genera have been 

 described and named IVeltneria Berndt 1907b, Berndtia Utinomi 

 1950a, Balanodytes Utinomi 1950b, Chytraea Utinomi 1950c, 

 Rogeretla Saint-Seine 1951, Zapfella Saint-Seine 1954, Simonizapfes 

 Codez 1957, and Brachyzapfes Codez 1957. The fossil form-genus 

 Nygmites Magdefrau (1937) includes at least one species (A^. sacculus) 

 which is considered to be an acrothoracican, anticipating Zapfella. 



1 



