Chthamalus dalli
From Natural History of Southeast Alaska
Little Brown Barnacle (Chthamalus dalli): This 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.
Local Notes
References
Weblinks
- WoRMS Page for Chthamalus dalli
- Search Arctos Database for Chthamalus dalli (Southeast only)
- Search Arctos Database for Chthamalus dalli (entire database)
- Encyclopedia of Life search for Chthamalus dalli
- iNaturalist Observations for Chthamalus dalli in Southeast Alaska
Other References