Pelagic gooseneck barnacle

Lepas anatifera

The pelagic gooseneck barnacle attaches to floating objects with a flexible stalk. It drifts across the open ocean while extending feathery limbs to catch food.

Not a fish · an aquatic neighbor

Water

Saltwater

Open ocean on driftwood, pumice, plastic, ships, and other floating surfaces.

Temperature

Range not established

A dependable species-specific wild temperature range was not established from the reviewed sources, so both values are null.

Size

Capitulum up to about 5 cm (2 in), with stalks up to about 90 cm (35 in)

The stalk can be longer than a ruler

Lifespan

Not established in the wild.

Life expectancy varies with place, conditions, and what scientists have been able to observe.

01 · Signature adaptation

What does it do?

Adults are sessile after attaching to a floating surface. Larvae swim freely, drift with currents, and settle only after finding a suitable object.

Its superpowerIts strong natural cement lets it cling to moving floating surfaces.

02 · Home coordinates

Where does it live?

Warm and temperate open oceans worldwide.

Regions: Tropical and temperate oceans worldwide

03 · The menu

What does it eat?

It extends cirri into currents to filter particles and capture small drifting prey.

Filter-feeder and predator: zooplankton, shrimp, small fish, polyps, detritus.

04 · Remember this

Two wow facts

Floating neighborhood

It can colonize driftwood, ships, pumice, plastic, and other objects carried by currents.

Sources [2]

Long flexible stalk

Its attachment stalk can reach roughly 90 cm while the shell-bearing capitulum remains much smaller.

Sources [1]