Whale Barnacles [Conchoderma]

Description

These barnacles are famous for hitchhiking on large animals—especially whales—attaching to the skin and sometimes to floating debris. Underwater, divers may spot their rough, shell-like plates clustered together, often forming a textured “mini-habitat” on the surface they cling to.

Species

Rabbit-ear Barnacle

Conchoderma auritum

Conchoderma chelonophilum

Conchoderma chelonophilum

Conchoderma hunteri

Conchoderma hunteri

Conchoderma indicum

Conchoderma indicum

Conchoderma virgatum

Conchoderma virgatum

Taxonomy