Buoy Barnacles are attached to floats that they had secreted that have a texture like that of expanding foam.

3 - 7 August 2006

Thousands of the stalked Buoy Barnacles, Dosima fascicularis, are washed ashore on the beaches of Connemara, County Galway, south-west Ireland. They were stranded all along the west coast of Ireland.

August 2004
A float of Buoy Barnacles, Dosima fascicularis, are washed up on the north coast of Ireland.
Link to Photograph

30 October 2004
"We live on the shore in the south-east corner of Hayling Island in Hampshire, and have recently had spring tides and southerly winds, resulting in much debris being washed above normal high water mark. This morning I found a plastic jug (seven inches long  with an aperture at the top of around four inches), and growing from the inside (and apparently filling it)  is a most peculiar creature. From the top of the jug protrude more than a dozen slimy and  jelly-like tentacles of dark colour and about half an inch in circumference. They all appear to emanate from a central body, which is obscured by the jug. Each of the slightly tapering  tentacles is up to six inches long, and  disappears into its own half-opened shell, which is stone grey and flattish and of irregular dimensions with a narrow ochre stripe on it. The shells are almost oblong or rhomboid in shape and no more than an inch or so long. When I found  the jug and creature at high water mark, I noticed that the tentacles were stirring as if it were still alive, so
brought it home and have placed it in a bucket of seawater in the yard.
 

                                                  Goose Barnacles

In the bucket, the smaller shells are opening and allowing a feathery set of fronds to come out and then retract as if the creature is either breathing or feeding."

9 October 2004
A visit to three shores in northern Cornwall brought the first report of a Violet Snail, Janthina janthina, with the recent spate of By-the-wind Sailors, Velella velella, strandings. Two shells, one alive and one dead, discovered by Julie Hatcher (Kimmeridge Bay Marine Nature Reserve) on Widemouth Bay beach, near Bude. The strandline was covered in the white skeleton shells of Velella several centimetres thick.
Not only the shell but the soft body of the Violet Snail is also a violet colour. This gastropod feeds of on Velella and secretes a mucus bubble-raft to keep in bouyant. Another animal (a crustacean) that secretes a polystyrene-like raft to keep it afloat is the Buoy Barnacle, Dosima fascicularis, which were present in their hundreds and were still be swept in on to the beach to strand and die. These were more numerous than at least two species of Goose Barnacles, the commonest was Lepas anatifera and the other smaller one washed up was the Duck Barnacle, Lepas pectinata. These two barnacles are always attached to floating debris and are not pelagic, but sessile animals when adult and they become stranded on the shore when the object they attach themselves to becomes dislodged and floats away.

21 September 2004
A mass stranding of By-the-wind Sailors, Velella velella, occurred on the Cornish coast at Porthcothan, Treyarnon, Constantine and other places from Sennen Cove (near Land's End) to Padstow. The Buoy Barnacles, Dosima fascicularis, started coming in on the same tide as the Velella. I've seen with my own eyes on Porthcothan (SW 8572), Treyarnon and Constantine and Paul Gainey saw them on Gwithian, all in north Cornwall.  I'd be very surprised if they weren't all the way up the coast and I'd number them in millions, all big. The Goose Barnacles are occurring in their usual quantity for this time of the year, if anything, less. To give you an idea, on my beach, Pothcothan, 25 acres at low tide: Velella approximately. one million, Buoy Barnacles: 2000+, Goose Barnacle colonies: 7.

Buoy Barnacle, Dosima fascicularis Photograph © Richard Lord (Guernsey)

The Buoy Barnacles were attached to floats that they had secreted that have a texture like that of expanding foam.

Goose Barnacles, Lepas, washed up on Constantine Beach, Cornwall Photograph by Amanda Bertuchi

13 January 2003
A live Green Turtle, Chelonia mydas, was landed on the west coast of Guernsey (Channel Islands) in the afternoon.
 Geoff George and Yvonne Chauvel discovered the turtle on Saline Beach. The Green Turtle has been treated by the States of Guernsey veterinarian and transferred to the Guernsey Aquarium at St. Peter Port.

The white spots are a species of turtle barnacle, which may have not been recorded before on the British list of marine (barnacle) species (MCS Directory). It could be the species Chelonibia testudinaria, but this is only an educated guess.

11 December 2002
Taking up this theme of the wildlife that surrounds us, but which is terra incognito to most of us amateur naturalists, Barry Collins (wildlife warden for Thorney Island) contributes an apt example from his observation of a marker post recently washed up on the Pilsey Sands in Chichester Harbour, Sussex. The section of the post which had for years been under water was covered with a thousand Goose Barnacles, Lepas anatifera, looking like silvery grey mussel shells around 5 cm (2 inches) long, each attached to the post by a long flexible brown stem which may be 20 cm (8 inches) long allowing the living crustacean to reach out into the surrounding water to feed.

19 June 2002
Goose Barnacles, Lepas anatifera, are washed up on a plank at Borth-y-Gêst, near Portmadoc, north Wales (Tremadoc Bay, north bit of Cardigan Bay), and these attracted the curiosity of the public.

Stella Turk
This message has been passed on from the Cornish Mailing List
 
 

12 September 2000
Thought you would be interested in this feedback of this morning: Anna and Peter Mason of 36 Primrose Way, Seaton, Devon spotted our Goose Barnacles in the Centre and on realising what they were dashed off to retrieve some more they had seen on Seaton Beach this morning (11 am). They have been put in one of our tanks, but we have to date never seen so
many on one buoy (see attached photo). Most are in good condition and are now filtering. (We have managed to feed the others by hand with half a cockle - this is going to take forever!)
We have had SW prevailing winds all week after the huge gales. We estimate there are 300 barnacles on the buoy and this is not a recognised British type fender, as noted before. Tiny barnacles are also present.

Best Wishes
Jenny
Sea Discovery Centre-Axmouth
12 September 2000
 

September 2000
Goose Barnacles, Lepas anatifera, were washed up between Seaton and Axmouth, in Lyme Bay, Dorset, on fenders from an American boat, so they may have drifted all the way across the Atlantic Ocean.

Hi Andy,
We get Goose Barnacles (Lepas anatifera) washing in on drift regularly, and a week or two back we found several score Bouy Barnacles (Lepas fascicularis) washed in at Porthcothan, Cornwall WT has the details)
Best Wishes,
Nick Darke

 Date: Tue, 3 Oct 2000 10:03:39 +0100
   From: "nick darke" <lobsterman@ukonline.co.uk>
Subject: Portuguese Men o'War etc.

Hi Vince,
Just to report two Portuguese Men o'War at Watergate & Mawgan Porth (one on each beach) today 3/10/00

Also, a Manx Shearwater, dead, clean, fresh, Watergate 3/10/00

Also, many Bouy Barnacles, and literally thousands of By-the-wind SailorsVelella, on Porthcothan but none on Watergate and Mawgan Porth. I've always thought of these as predominantly southwesterley strandings, Porthcothan is a NW facing beach, and our recent gale was NW.

Nick Darke

Report on Vince Smith's One-List/Cornish Wildlife

I have not heard of any Goose Barnacles being washed up lately, but you may be interested to know that I found a single specimen of Pollicipes pollicipes below the cliff at Carn Les Boel near Land's End SW 356232, several years ago, I understood at the time that the last previous sighting on this side of the channel was in 1880. I am in no condition to climb down there now, so do not know if there are any there at this time.  I could e-mail you a picture of it that I took so many years ago
if you are interested,
 Ray Dennis

Still in Scilly Isles mode I'm afraid!

We saw a fair few Goose Barnacles washed up on the sandbar between St. Agnes and Gugh.

On Perranporth Beach, Cornwall, Paul Gainey found a large coconut, still with its outer husk, as well as Buoy Barnacles (Lepas fascicularis) and By-the-Wind Sailors (Velella velella).

Stella Turk
Report on Vince Smith's One-List/Cornish Wildlife
These Cornish Environmental eForum pages contain many Goose and Bouy Barnacle reports.
See also:
Cornish Marine Life Records (Ray Dennis) 1999

Chthamalus stellatus
Chthamalus montagui
Semibalanus balanoides
Elminius modestus
Balanus crenatus
Balanus improvisus
Balanus perforatus
 

Field Studies Council Publications

Order THORACICA

Suborder LEPADOMORPHA

Suborder VERRUCOMORPHA

Suborder BALANOMORPHA

Superfamily CHTHAMALOIDEA

Superfamily CORONULOIDEA

Superfamily BALANOIDEA

 

Balanidae
Balanus Costa, 1778
Balanus amphitrite Darwin, 1854
Balanus balanus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Balanus crenatus Brugière, 1789
Balanus improvisus Darwin, 1854
Balanus perforatus Brugière, 1789
Balanus spongicola Brown, 1827
Megabalanus Hoek, 1913
Megabalanus tintinnabulum (Linnaeus, 1758)

 

Pyrgomatidae
Boscia Ferussac, 1822
Boscia anglica (Sowerby, 1823)

Barnacles (notes)