Whales living in the sea often jump out of the water suddenly and then shoot hard, stirring up a wave.
Whales jump out of the water
If people happen to be at sea, they will be shocked by such a scene, but they do not know that when people clap their hands and applaud, whales actually suffer greatly.
Why? Because in those jumping whales, we see dense barnacles, and if you have a friend with dense phobia, you may be scared to faint on the spot.
But such a terrible creature, even human beings will eat.
Next, let's find out, how terrifying is the "hell food" barnacles? Being treated as a delicacy by humans makes whales unbearable and painful.
Stunning graphics
Barnacles: a favorite of seafood lovers
At first, a large number of barnacles were seen on some stranded whales, thinking they were shellfish because they had the limestone shells that are the hallmark of mollusks.
It wasn't until scientists captured their juveniles that they knew they were arthropods.
In the eyes of many seafood lovers, barnacles are a mouth-watering delicacy, and their meat quality is almost as delicious as oysters.
There are 541 species in 8 families of barnacles found today, and about 110 species have been found on the mainland alone, which shows how common this creature is in the ocean.
barnacle
The most famous of these is the gooseneck barnacles, which in some European countries can even sell for 200 euros / catty, equivalent to 1400 yuan.
Many fishermen living by the sea often go to the rocks to pick up barnacles and go home to make soup.
It is said that all you need to do is put the barnacles in the pot without much processing, then simmer over low heat and sprinkle some table salt during the period, and then quietly wait for it to come out of the pot.
When you open the pot, you can see that around the white tender, delicate barnacles meat, there is a layer of substances like egg flowers or tofu flowers, which are rich in protein.
Barnacles delicacies
To say that this guy, people who don't eat it think it looks disgusting, people who eat it think it's delicious, and then think of the way barnacles treat sea creatures, it's not an exaggeration to say that it's "hell food".
Barnacles: A nightmare for marine life
In addition to clinging to the rocks of the sea, these barnacles form dense communities and prefer to parasitize marine life, such as whales and turtles.
Barnacles have three stages in their life: arthropods, glandular larvae, and adults.
In the arthropod stage, its size is only about 1 mm, at this time they float in the ocean like small fish and shrimp.
The growth process of barnacles
By the stage of the glandular larvae, they will begin to look for a place to live, at this time their seriousness is simply admirable, in order to find a home will not even be distracted to eat.
In general, their favorite thing is that the water flow is not too turbulent, and where there is a rich source of food, it is best not to attach to the surface too flat.
When they find a place to parasite, they will quickly secrete glue and then gradually develop into adult worms.
Once the barnacles are successfully adhered to, they can no longer move for the rest of their lives, at which point they rely on their tentacles to catch the food around them.
Barnacles after parasitism
It makes the whales miserable
Barnacles are generally used by animals that swim very slowly, like gray whales and turtles, which are about the same speed as humans riding bicycles.
Gray whales are their favorite host because of their large size, they can parasitize more places, which can also promote the reproduction of species.
They generally choose whales that are soft and have most of their skin folds, such as fins, eyelids, nostrils, lips, and even genitals.
There are visible barnacles on stranded whales
Although barnacles, unlike other parasites, suck the blood and flesh of whales, the areas where they adhere can make the whale itch and become deeper and deeper.
So there's what we said at the beginning, the whales beating the waves.
In order to relieve and get rid of the pain caused by barnacles, whales will rely on their own weight to form a strong vibration on the surface of the water to shake off the barnacles on their bodies.
Even, in order to better remove the barnacles on the body, whales sometimes go to rub the boats on the sea, which is the same as the itching of humans, find a sharp place to rub, is the same reason.
Whales may take the boat
But whales, acting like this, can easily overturn a small ship, causing the people on board to suffer.
However, for blue whales, the parasitism of barnacles may not have much effect on them.
Because their skin is very thick, it can reach about 2-5 cm, and under the skin, there is even nearly 50 cm of oil.
Therefore, the parasitism of barnacles does not make them feel painful, and if barnacles parasitize on their fins, they can also increase their ability to hit in the water to a certain extent.
Different kinds of barnacles
Let the centenarian turtle sink to the bottom of the sea
But the turtle is not so lucky, even if it has a hard back armor, it cannot escape the invasion of barnacles.
It has been seen on the beach of a turtle suspected of being sunburned, and its body is covered with dense barnacles.
It is speculated that perhaps because the turtle could not stand the parasitic barnacles, they decided to dry the barnacles to death by the sun, only to die first.
Compared to whales, turtles may be more vulnerable to barnacles, because in terms of size, turtles are not as good as whales, and even their speed is not as good.
Sea turtles are also the main parasitic animals of barnacles
Originally, the shell of the turtle was already thick enough, but unexpectedly, the burden became heavier after the barnacles parasitized on the body.
These barnacles greatly reduce the turtles' swimming speed, making them easier to catch by predators and reducing their ability to prey.
Turtles have one of the highest lifespans among marine life, and they can even live to be more than 100 years old without encountering danger.
But once the turtle is parasitized by a barnacles, as the barnacles multiply on the body, the turtles will gradually become overwhelmed and eventually sink to the bottom of the sea because they cannot swim.
Turtles live a long life
And the parasitism of barnacles on turtles can be said to be pervasive, after fishermen found a "butt blossoming" turtle on the beach, and as a result, they looked closely and knew that it was a barnacles.
Barnacles: Ship destroyers
In addition to marine life, many ships in the sea have also become places for barnacles to parasitize.
These barnacles will parasitize the bottom of the boat in large quantities, and when their number reaches a certain level, the weight of the boat will increase, which will also increase the consumption of fuel.
Barnacles parasitic on the ship
And a large number of barnacles will also cause the shape of the bottom of the boat to be destroyed, if the fishermen do not notice, and sail to the sea, there is a possibility of accidents.
In the ocean, there are also many large ships, their cost is generally very expensive, if it is a military ship, if it is parasitized by barnacles, it will cause huge losses.
It is understood that the U.S. Navy spends $250 million a year to repair the wear and tear caused by barnacles, as well as the additional fuel costs caused by their parasitism.
In addition, on many docks, barnacles not only parasitize ships, but also cause a burden on the construction of docks, bridges, etc.
Dense barnacles
In order to avoid causing serious damage, people need to regularly inspect these offshore buildings and ships, and clean the barnacles on them, causing great trouble for people.
Other functions of barnacles
However, although barnacles are a headache, it does not prevent people from treating them as a delicacy and studying them.
The reason why barnacles have such a powerful parasitic ability is that its gum glands can secrete a glue that, after being transported through the catheter, can reach the site and then act as an adhesive, fixing itself to the selected attachment point.
Barnacles larvae
In modern society, we have also invented a lot of adhesive glues, etc., but it is not common for glues that can be so strong underwater.
So now scientists are also studying barnacles, conquering the mechanism of their secretion and curing, and trying to create excellent glue.
Now researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States have obtained inspiration by analyzing the biological glue secreted by barnacles and successfully developed a surgical glue that can complete emergency hemostasis within 30 seconds.
Very viscous glue
It is believed that with the deepening of research, we can use these barnacles and effectively cope with barnacles adhering to ships and marine buildings.
If you can, you might also be able to help whales and turtles remove barnacles from their bodies to alleviate their suffering.