Stranded Goose Barnacles

Just a gallery of photographs of living Common Goose Barnacles (Lepas anatifera Linnaeus) that were washed ashore in huge numbers attached to an old flotsam fishing crate. It was fascinating to watch how they opened their shells and rhythmically waved and grasped their fringed appendages, (cirripedes) in an automatic but futile gesture designed to capture food particles from the water. These pictures show various stages in the process of extending and withdrawing the cirripedes. I wrote about these seashore creatures a while ago and you can find more information about them by clicking here for Goose Barnacles on Rhossili Beach.