Chthamalidae

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Family: Chthamalidae

Group: Marine Invertebrate, Species

Scientific NameCommon NameSummary
Chthamalus dalliLittle Brown BarnacleThis barnacle is a super high tide survivor, found above the water even on many very high tides where it withstands frost, heat and freshwater intrusion to an unbelievable extent, but it is also found lower in the intertidal, where it is less competitive.

As their name suggests, little brown barnacles are little (up to 6 mm across, versus 22 mm across for Balanus glandula) and brown (or rather, grayish brown).

If you find a barnacle that is small and gray, but still may be a small specimen of a different species, look at the sutures between the rostrum (the widest end plate of the "volcano") and the adjoining plates: the rostrum underlaps the adjoining plates, whereas in local species of Balanus, the opposite is true.