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Goose-Necked Barnacle

Mitella pollicipes (formerly Pollicipes cornucopia Leach)

Appears in

By Alan Davidson

Published 1980

  • About

Family Pollicipidae

  • Portuguese: Perceve
  • Spanish: Percebe
  • French: Pouce-pied
  • Other: Lamperna (Basque)

REMARKS Maximum length about 15 cm.

This creature, which belongs to the Order Cirripedia, is not like the other crustaceans. It consists of what might be called a tube, as thick as a finger, with a dark parchment-like skin bearing tiny scales. On this is mounted a sort of hoof a pair of white bony pads, from between which emerge the creature’s feet.

These barnacles are usually found in groups, attached to a rock; and are said to be most easily caught at full moon when the tide is low. In fact, the demand for them in Portugal and Spain is so great that they have become increasingly rare in accessible habitats; and the ‘fishery’ for them is nowadays quite perilous, since it involves diving in what are often rough seas to reach the rocks where they can still be found.

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