A Thriller from Poppy
Whats up Pricey Group,
I’ve saved my favorite 2022 marine thriller for you till now.
It’s from Poppy who was in British Columbia visiting from England together with her father, sister Maya, grandpa and grandma.
Poppy discovered these on a seaside on Malcolm Island and so they had been photographed on the again of a cellular phone.
It really harm my head to attempt to determine this out. I knew that I SHOULD know what they had been however simply not make the ID take form. In desirous to get the reply to Poppy as quickly as attainable, I reached out to experience larger than my very own. I suspected I might have an enormous face-palming second of “however after all” when the shells had been recognized.
And certainly that occurred.
Take a second to attempt to decide the ID your self? Then scroll down for the reply.
Are you certain you wish to see the reply?
Right here goes!
After all! 🤦♀️ They’re the elements of the shell of a barnacle that open and shut!
The reply that got here from naturalist supreme Invoice Merilees was: “What you’ve here’s a barnacle valve – one of many ‘flaps’ that opens to permit the feeding tentacles to pressure meals from the water column. Nice photograph of this uncommon shell exoskeleton!”
This led me to strive to determine what barnacle species these may come from and what the names of the constructions had been.
I consider probably the most particular ID is that these are the opercular plates of a Thatched Acorn Barnacle. The 2 elements are the tergum and scutum.
Beneath are a few of my images of one other barnacle species, the Large Acorn Barnacle (Balanus nubilus) which could assist in recognizing the shells. Isn’t it wondrous? All barnacle species begin off a plankton after which type their very own intricate shells in order that their foot can prolong out to rake in meals.
Completely satisfied New 12 months to you. Could the subsequent yr be crammed with completely happy mysteries, marvel, and empowerment for constructive change.
Sources of illustrations:
Coletti, Giovanni & Bosio, Giulia & Collareta, Alberto & Buckeridge, John & Consani, Sirio & El Kateb, Akram. (2018). Palaeoenvironmental evaluation of the Miocene barnacle facies: Case research from Europe and South America. Geologica Carpathica. 69. 573-592. 10.1515/geoca-2018-0034.
Oregon Institute of Marine Biology, Semibalanus cariosus – A thatched barnacle
