828 NATURAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS. 



231. THE CIRRIPEDIA. 

 THE BARNACLES BALANTJS EBUENETJS, Gould, AND ALLIED SPECIES. 



Several species of Barnacles (which belong to the natural group of Crustacea, despite the 

 hard, tuollusk-like shell of most of the species) occur upon our coast and serve as food for some 

 of our fishes, but it is mainly their intrusion upon certain of the marine industries that gives 

 them a place in this volume. A large species of Barnacle, Coronula diadema, Liune, growing upon 

 the skin of one or more species of whales, is eaten to some extent by the west coast Indians. 



In one group of Barnacles the animals are furnished with a fleshy stem or peduncle, by means 

 of which they remain permanently attached to floating objects in the sea. The species of this 

 group bear the general name of "Goose Barnacles." Our commonest species is the Lepas 

 fagcicularis. The other group of Barnacles, represented upon our coast by the " Rock Barnacle" 

 (Balanus balanoides), "Ivory Barnacle" (Balanus eburneus), and other species, has no peduncle, 

 but the several valves forming the conical shell are attached directly and permanently to the 

 rocks or wood on which they happen to dwell. Some of the species of both groups grow upon the 

 hulls of ships below the water-line, and in connection with seaweed and other species of marine 

 animals cause the so-called fouling of the bottom, necessitating constant cleaning and scraping of 

 the bottoms of vessels at considerable expense. Barnacles also stand as a serious obstacle in the 

 way of oyster culture, as shown by the recent experiences of the United States Fish Commission. 

 They grow with exceeding rapidity, very much faster than the oyster, and are so hardy as to defy 

 any attempts at extermination. In the spring of 1880, when the experiments in the artificial 

 breeding of oysters were being carried on in Chesapeake Bay, slates coated with plaster were 

 used as collectors. To these the oyster embryos attached themselves in large numbers, and began 

 their growth with good promises of success ; but at the same time embryos of the Ivory Barnacle 

 were fully as abundant in the water, and, attaching themselves in even greater numbers, rapidly 

 outgrew the less hardy oysters. In many places they completely crowded the oysters out of 

 place, and soon occupied entire surfaces. In other places, however, they were less numerous and 

 interfered less with the oyster growths. It is very certain that this inconvenience must always 

 remain as a certain check on all oyster- cultural experiments on our coast, and must seriously 

 interfere with any attempts at artificial oyster-breeding. It is to be hoped, however, that future 

 experiments will prove that the Ivory Barnacle cannot entirely destroy the profits of such an 

 important industry, which, in consideration of the greatly impoverished character of some of our 

 formerly rich oyster regions, it is very necessary should be started at once, and, if possible, carried 

 to a high state of perfection. 



The Ivory Barnacle ranges from Massachusetts Bay to Florida and the West Indies, while the 

 Kock Barnacle inhabits the entire North Atlantic coasts of both continents. The habitats of our 

 common species are given as follows by Professor Verrill: 



"The common Barnacle of the rocky shores, Balanus balanoides, is also common on the piles 

 of wharves and bridges, between tides, and also on the bottoms of vessels, etc. It never grows 

 very large, although it may become so crowded together as to form a continuous crust. It is 

 easily distinguished from the other species by its membranous base, which never forms a solid 

 plate like that of the other species. The ' Ivory Barnacle,' Balanun eburneus, is also common on 

 all kinds of submerged wood-work, whether fixed or floating. It is usually abundant on the piles 

 and timbers of wharves, buoys, oyster-stakes, bottoms of vessels, etc. It is chiefly found below 

 low-water mark if on fixed objects, and is even more common in the brackish waters of estuaries 

 than in the purer waters outside, and it is capable of living even in pure, fresh water, for Prof. 



