Smooth Goose Barnacle

Description:

Marine crustacean with four movable plates, when open, serve as doors for the feather-like legs to emerge and seek food. These legs fan out, and then are retracted time and time again. They have long, dark “necks” (the stalk) and a somewhat triangular white “head” (the body of the crustacean). The “neck” is attached to a hard surface, and it (and the “head”) wave around in a weird, snake-y manner. Marine shell or mollusk firmly attached to driftwood. Observed along the beach at Hunting Island State Park, SC.

Habitat:

The Goose Barnacle lives on floating objects or rocks out at sea. They are found in southeastern seas. Marine habitat attached to substrate (object). This one was photographed on a piece of driftwood at the beach on Hunting Island, SC.

Notes:

Lepas anatifera feeds on plankton, cnidarians (pelagic hydroids), and even small fish. When the larger Gooseneck Barnacles are cooked (their long, thin necks are esteemed as a delicacy in some areas), their flavor is said to be a combination of that of shrimp, crab, and lobster. The texture is chewy and soft, like snails, and moist.