Lepadidae Family of Gooseneck Barnacles

Two Gooseneck Barnacles of the Lepadidae Family can be found in this website:

Phylogeny: Gooseneck Barnacles of the Lepadidae Family are in the Arthropoda phylum and the Crustacea subphylum. This means that they have jointed legs and a hard exoskeleton. They are in the superclass Multicrustacea of true crustaceans. These animals are in the class Theocostra, often having a body enclosed within a bivalved carapace, and a head and abdomen that are frequently reduced. They are in the Cirripedia subclass, the Thoracica infraclass, and the Thoracicalcarea superorder. The Scalpellomorpha order is one of five orders in this superorder and the superfamily Lepadoidea is one of three superfamilies in this order. The Lepadidae Family is one of five families in the Lepadoidea Superfamily. The Lepadidae Family consists of four genera and twenty-four species. The name Lepadidae comes from the Latin word for “limpet”. Perhaps these barnacles were thought to resemble limpets in that they cling to rocks. Goose Barnacles get their common name from the belief held by naturalists in the 1500’s that these barnacles turn into geese.

Morphology: Gooseneck Barnacles are comprised of two parts, a shelled upper portion (capitulum) and a flexible stalk (peduncle). The capitulum is made up of five plates made of chitin. Chitin is the substance that crab and lobster shells are made from. Contained within the capitulum are the head, thorax, abdomen, and cirri (feathered legs). The head consist mostly of mouth parts. The plates open, similar to a clam shell, to allow the cirri to extend. The cirri function like gills to extract oxygen from the water and to capture food. The peduncle is unarmored (no scales or plates), flexible, and leathery. The peduncle attaches the barnacle the substrate. The length of the capitulum generally ranges from 2.5 cm (1.0 inch) to 5.1 cm (2.0 inches) in length, though one species reaches 7.2 cm (2.8 inches). The peduncle can range from 4.0 cm (1.6 inches) to 90 cm (2 feet 11 inches) in length.

Habitat and distribution: Gooseneck Barnacles can be found attached to hard substrates, floating objects, and marine life such as sea turtles. They live at the oceans surface and to depths of around 4,160 m (13,645 feet). They are found worldwide in temperate to tropical seas. At least thirteen species from the Lepadidae Family are found in Mexican waters.

Reproduction:  Goose Barnacles are simultaneous hermaphrodites (having both male and females reproductive organs). Reproduction is sexual, with one individual inserting its penis into the mantle cavity of a nearby individual. The eggs are brooded in the mantle cavity for only one week before being released as free-swimming nauplii. The larva undergo several molts before metamorphosing into their sessile form. They can reach sexual maturity in as little as  thirty days.

Ecosystem Roles: Goose Barnacles are suspension feeders. They use their cirri to filter hydrozoans and other plankton from the surrounding water. They are preyed upon by sea birds, crabs, fish, and pelagic sea slugs. Goose Barnacles are epibionts on marine life such as floating macro algae,  turtles and whales. They generally have limited impact on their hosts, but can, if their populations are too high, cause drag on their animal hosts.