Barnacles · Scalpellomorpha · Pollicipedidae

Gooseneck Barnacle

Pollicipes pollicipes

Not Evaluated

It has not yet been assessed against the IUCN criteria. See full glossary

The gooseneck barnacle is a cirripede crustacean of the family Pollicipedidae that grows on wave-beaten rocks. It feeds by filtration, since, having no limbs, it stays fixed to the rocks throughout its adult life.

Lifespan

20 years

Diet

Omnivore

Combines animal and plant food depending on availability.

Social structure

Colony

Lives in large concentrations, often for breeding reasons.

Sighting difficulty

Unknown

OceanOmnivore Colonial Ocean Crustacean

9countries 20parks 11dive sites

Fun facts

GeneralIt is not a mollusc but a barnacle, a crustacean, and it filter-feeds with legs turned into feathery cirri.
It is a crustacean, not a mollusc: it is related to crabs and prawns, even though it looks like a shell stuck to the rock. Charles Darwin proved it, devoting eight years to the study of barnacles.
It lives head down, attached to the rock by a stalk, and feeds by extending its cirri — its modified legs — to filter the plankton carried by the waves.
It depends on wave action: it thrives only on the most exposed points, and that makes harvesting it one of the most dangerous jobs at sea. Galician percebeiros work roped up and against the tide.
It is hermaphroditic and needs cross-fertilisation, so it only grows in dense aggregations where individuals can reach one another.
In Galicia the harvest is regulated by annual plans with closed seasons, quotas and rotating zones managed by the fishermen's guilds, a co-management model cited as an international example.