Crab With Barnacles by photosynthesis

Photography • Sea/Undersea • posted on Nov 21, 2013

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Description

I found this crab covered with barnacles on the beach at Cape Blanco. I particularly found the one in the middle fascinating - it almost looked like an eye. Did a quick search & found a site (which is geared towards children) called A-Z Animals that had some relevant information about barnacles that attached themselves to crabs: "The barnacle is a hardy animal that is found in or very closely to sea water. Although it is frequently confused for a mollusc because of its hard outer shell, it is actually a crustacean, closely related to crabs and lobsters. Barnacles are most often seen as roughly circular sessile invertebrates (which means that they cannot move on their own), and are permanently attached to the substrate they live on. In their juvenile form they are free-floating, but eventually they attach themselves to any nearby rock, shell, or other object and stay there for the rest of their lives. Their shells are composed of calcite. Barnacles are often seen on crabs, whales, boats, rocks and on the shells of sea turtles. Although some species of barnacle are parasitic, most barnacle species are harmless, because they are filter feeders and do not interfere with an animal's normal diet and do not harm that animal that they live on in any way. Many species of barnacle are so harmless that in fact, an animal that is covered in them, may not even notice!" Please zoom...