550 
BARNACLE. 
it is tubular, transparent, and composed of rings 
lessening gradually to the extremity, where it is sur- 
rounded with a circle of small moveable bristles. 
In the inside of this trunk appears the tongue, 
which is a dark-coloured, spiral substance, that the 
animal can extend or contract at pleasure. The 
mouth is placed between the smaller claws, and is 
not unlike a contracted purse ; within the folds are 
six or eight horny laminae or teeth. Beneath this 
lie the stomach and intestines, together with the 
tendons by which the animal adheres to the shell. 
There are several species of this genus, but only 
one amongst them was ever celebrated for any pe- 
culiarity : this was the goose barnacle, Lepas ana- 
tifera Linn., whose history we have already given 
in the first volume. This species is frequently 
found adhering in clusters to the bottom of ships, and 
to pieces of timber : in this state they are met with 
in abundance, generally attached to the wood by a 
short neck ; and when in search of food they stretch 
forth a number of tentacula, which the credulous 
formerly supposed to be the legs of a bird. 
