In 2020, the British media "Liverpool Epides" published a featured report featuring nearly two thousand gooseneck barnacles. They were firmly attached to a driftwood, densely packed and uncomfortable, but sold for a high price. The report pointed out that at the market price of 25 pounds at the time, this is worth at least 50,000 pounds like the barnacles on wood.
This driftwood attached to a gooseneck barnacle is worth a lot
This undoubtedly shocked many people, after all, most people have not tried it, and dare not try this "delicacy". And a small number of people who have tried it, because of the barnacle's "metamorphosis attachment mechanism", call it a delicacy from hell.
So, how scary are barnacles?
The metamorphosis development path of barnacles
Although barnacles are creatures of the phylum Arthropoda and the sheath family, on the surface, this guy really does not look like a living creature, after all, after it becomes an adult, it no longer has the ability to move.
Barnacles don't look like living creatures
In general, the growth history of vine-footed organisms requires multiple stages of development, namely nauplii, non-feeding Venus larvae, fixed juveniles, and adults. In the process of this development, the morphological structure and living habits of barnacles will undergo huge changes.
When hatched from the eggs, it begins its own ephemera life, drifting aimlessly in the water. When the larvae of Venus develop, they will begin to use their receptors to find a surface to attach to, simply put, to select the right "mount".
Barnacle development goes through several stages
Once selected, its gum glands will begin to secrete glue so that it can attach to the base.
It should be noted that the attachment at this time does not mean that it is a lifelong choice in the future, because if you feel that this "mount" is not good to use, it can still get out of here and choose another one.
Of course, there is not much time left for the selection of the Venus larvae, and if it cannot complete the attachment metamorphosis, then it will only die.
According to the data, scientists Lagersson et al. divided the fixation behavior of Venus larvae into 5 separate stages: swimming, substrate detection, extensive exploration, close exploration, secretion and permanent attachment of chalk glands.
At the larval stage of Venus, they begin to attempt permanent attachment
Once permanently attached, barnacle development officially enters the adult stage, when calcareous shells grow on the edges of the larvae of Venus to protect themselves.
It can be seen that if we first encounter barnacle larvae in the ocean, nine times out of ten we will not recognize them. After all, in the process of this metamorphosis development, not only the life habits of barnacles have undergone tremendous changes, but even the "appearance" is very different.
Barnacles at different stages of growth vary greatly in morphology and habit
It is worth mentioning that don't look at the small size of this guy, the harm it produces is great. Not only will it plague some slower swimming creatures in the ocean, but even human boats will not be spared.
Barnacles' torment of marine life
Because the barnacle family is very large, with more than 500 species of members, they are distributed in various seas. But because it is a metapermetic animal, most of the time it will only live in places where the salinity of the sea does not change much, such as harbors, estuaries, coasts and other places.
Barnacles are metaosmotic animals, so they only live in parts of the sea
In general, their attachment to the larval stage of Venus needs to go through a process of "reinforcement", so choosing a "mount" at this time cannot choose a creature that swims too fast. As a result, "street skates" like killer whales, who flutter in the ocean all day, "painfully lose" the qualification to become barnacle vehicles.
But humpback whales cannot escape its parasitism, and in most humpback whales, we can see the shadow of barnacles. There are obvious differences in the location and number of these barnacles, but what makes animals unbearable is that they will parasitize certain private parts without quality.
Humpback whales have dense barnacles on their bodies
For parasitic humpback whales, they are often itched by barnacles attached to their bodies, and they do not have such flexible hands as humans, so they can't get these "marine lice" down.
For this reason, tormented whales will come to ask for human help, and they will not only rub their bodies on the hull, but sometimes expose the parts full of barnacles, hoping that humans can solve their problems.
Tormented humpback whales sometimes approach human vessels for help
In addition to humpback whales, there is also a hapless egg that is a turtle. The parade of sea turtles in the ocean is not fast, and barnacles can add a "burden" to it.
You may not be able to imagine the weight of a calcareous barnacle on top of a turtle shell, but turtles have been in danger several times because of barnacles. After all, swimming too slowly can easily be eaten by other predators.
Of course, this is not the most annoying. Barnacles tend to be inconspicuous when "hitchhiking" and parasitize on the turtle's head, sometimes even near its breathing holes, which makes the turtle's life even more difficult.
Barnacles that parasitize turtles sometimes choose some awkward positions
In addition, because the adsorption capacity is so strong that it is comparable to 502 superglue, people have to use a lot of force every time they help turtles to process barnacles. In this case, it is basically impossible for the turtle to shake off the barnacle on its own.
Next, let's take a look at how barnacles cause human disgust.
Why do humans also hate barnacles?
"Disgusting" barnacles
Since large ships do not sail too fast, barnacles are given the opportunity to parasitize. They can collect under the ship, causing permanent fouling. Previously, when people investigated marine fouling organisms on ships around the world, they found that the harm of barnacles was "among the best", accounting for more than 70%.
According to the survey, the distribution density of barnacles on ships in Hong Kong waters is as high as 1050 / square meter. The attachment of barnacles thickens and thickens the hull shell plates, greatly increasing the ship's drag and resulting in a decrease in speed, which consumes up to 40% of the total fuel volume.
Barnacles attach to the bottom of the vessel, which causes a decrease in speed
In addition, it is the reproductive behavior of barnacles, so that once it adheres to where, it will form a terrifying "cluster effect".
It's like cockroaches, and once you spot one or two exposed, there's more out of sight.
Because barnacles themselves are hermaphroditic, and when there are other similar species nearby, males will directly insert the adapter into the female's coat cavity during the breeding period to complete mating.
Male barnacles make rational use of their long adapters during the breeding period
If not, they will even release the sperm directly into the seawater, and the female barnacle will randomly "pick" and complete fertilization.
To this end, evolutionary biologists at the University of Alberta in Canada have also done relevant research and obtained the following results.
The research team analyzed the DNA composition of barnacles that already carried embryos. These barnacles live both in groups and independently. The results showed that each barnacle individual outside the "penis range" had at least one genetic marker that was different from its own, suggesting that the sperm they obtained came from seawater.
It is worth mentioning that this barnacle species, which often releases viscous semen directly in seawater, is the "gooseneck barnacle" that we mentioned earlier and is sold as a delicacy. Maybe seeing this, everyone feels that this guy is difficult to swallow.
Scientists have found that male gooseneck barnacles release semen directly in seawater
In addition, it should be noted that not all barnacles are edible, some barnacles swallow plankton all day in contaminated seawater, and some harmful elements in the body may have exceeded the standard. So if you can't accept it, don't force yourself to accept this food from hell!