Content on this page requires a newer version of Adobe Flash Player.

Get Adobe Flash player

 

Search in the Encyclopedia

Bay barnacle

size:

up to 15 millimeters in diameter and up to 6 millimeters in height

color:

broken white- to light brown

age

maximum 2 years old

food:

plankton

enemies:

worms, snails, fish

  • Dut: Brakwaterpok
  • Lat: Balanus improvisus
  • Eng: Bay barnacle
  • Ger: Brackwasser-Seepocke
  • Dan: Brakvandsrur
Bay barnacles, foto fitis, sytske dijksen

Bay barnacle

As opposed to the acorn barnacle, bay barnacles can also survive in brackish water. They didn't originally belong to the original Dutch fauna. They probably arrived in the North Sea attached to a ship arriving from the eastern shores of the United States. Or possibly attachted to a whale. This is often how a small animal travels a long distance without exerting any effort. When Australasian barnacles inhabit the same area where bay barnacles already live, then the bay barnacle is often the weaker of the two and is displaced.

  • Distribution and habitat

    As its name says, this barnacle also lives in bays which are generally brackish. The delta region is such a bay. It generally lives no deeper than 10 meters. Bay barnacles are commonly found along all European coasts. On Schouwen, in Zeeland, there is a shed with skeletons of bay barnacles attached. The animals attached to the she during the flood of 1953.

Leaving the harness