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Smooth Goose Barnacle
Lepas anatifera
32.3668, -80.4389
Field Notes
Description:
Marine crustacean with four movable plates, when open, serve as doors for the feather-like legs to emerge and seek food. These legs fan out, and then are retracted time and time again.
They have long, dark “necks” (the stalk) and a somewhat triangular white “head” (the body of the crustacean). The “neck” is attached to a hard surface, and it (and the “head”) wave around in a weird, snake-y manner.
Marine shell or mollusk firmly attached to driftwood. Observed along the beach at Hunting Island State Park, SC.
Habitat:
The Goose Barnacle lives on floating objects or rocks out at sea. They are found in southeastern seas. Marine habitat attached to substrate (object). This one was photographed on a piece of driftwood at the beach on Hunting Island, SC.
Notes:
Lepas anatifera feeds on plankton, cnidarians (pelagic hydroids), and even small fish. When the larger Gooseneck Barnacles are cooked (their long, thin necks are esteemed as a delicacy in some areas), their flavor is said to be a combination of that of shrimp, crab, and lobster. The texture is chewy and soft, like snails, and moist.
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