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Hello everyone, it is
another bloody cold day here, no rain or wind just cold and yes I
have the heater going.
This Tuesday I am going
to tell you a little about a pretty indestructible creature and the
creature is the Barnacle which I am pretty sure everyone has heard
of.
Barnacles are the
whitish hard, pointy lumps that you find encrusted all over seaside
rocks, piers and underside of boats. They are related to crabs and
lobsters but live in an almost indestructible shell that's glues to a
hard surface.
When underwater they
open two door like things in its shell to reach out with its feathery
feet to catch passing plankton and food scraps. When the tide is out
or they feel threatened the close the doors and hide inside.
They are so rock hard
you might think they are part of the rock they are attached to, the
glue they use to stick to stuff is so strong that scientists are
trying to copy the make up or recipe to make a new water resistant
adhesive.
There
are many species of barnacles, but only two are commonly eaten the
gooseneck barnacle a tube like creature with very little shell, and
the rock barnacle which is almost all shell.
Barnacles
can cover a turtle to such an extent, that they can disable the
flippers and cover the eyes and nostrils to such an extent, that the
turtle is unable to swim, see, smell, or even survive.
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When it's cold in summer it's miserable isn't it ... barnacles are amazing - and more with the information you've given us ... cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteIt was interesting to know about Barnacles. It seems to be small but big enough to cover a turtle:)
ReplyDeleteHi, Jo-Anne!
ReplyDeleteBarnacles have always fascinated me and I appreciated the chance to learn more about them in this post. Some of my earliest childhood memories are of going to the seashore and seeing masses of barnacles attached to boat hulls, rocks and breakwater jetties. It would be great if scientists could produce the same kind of underwater super glue barnacles use. It never occurred to me that barnacles can cover, disable and kill turtles and other creatures.
Keep warm and enjoy the rest of your week, dear friend Jo-Anne!
I remember getting a bunch of shells that had barnacles on them. On an unrelated note, Scrappy just saw a toad on our porch during a rainstorm.
ReplyDeletePoor turtles--attacked by barnacles! I never thought of the poor turtles.
ReplyDeleteBarnackes really hurt to step on or fall against and can cut you.
Hilary..........Yes they are fascinating
ReplyDeleteWeekend........I didn't think much about them before
Shady..........Yes I remember seeing them as a child but never thought of them harming other creatures such as turtles
Chris.......I would freak out if I saw a toad on my porch but since I do not have a porch not going to happen
Rita..........I wouldn't like to step on one and I never thought of them doing damage to turtles
I have seen these barnacles on the beaches but didn't know that they can be so harmful to the turtles.
ReplyDeleteQuite interesting. We have no barnacles (that I know of) in Kansas but we have turtles. I wonder if our man made lakes might have a form of barnacle.
ReplyDeleteDear Jo-anne, I knew about barnacles covering the bottoms of ships and piers, but I never knew they attached themselves to other living beings like turtles. That's a shock! Peace.
ReplyDeleteI've known of barnacles, of course, but never knew much about them.
ReplyDeleteNancy............Same here
ReplyDeleteMarlu............I wonder about that too, now that you mentioned it
Dee.............Yes it was to me as well
Karen..........Same here