Balanus nubilus
Balanus nubilus, commonly called the giant acorn barnacle, is the world's largest barnacle, reaching a diameter of 15 centimetres (5.9 in) and a height of up to 30 centimetres (12 in),[2] and containing the largest known muscle fibres.[3][4]
B. nubilus is frequently found growing on rocks, pier pilings and hard-shelled animals at depths of up to 90 metres (300 ft)[3] from Alaska to La Jolla, San Diego County, California.[5] Like other acorn barnacles, B. nubilus is a filter feeder; it, in turn, is sometimes eaten by sea otters,[6] sea stars, crabs[7] and Native Americans of Pacific Northwest.[8] Abandoned shells of B. nubilus are used by the crab Glebocarcinus oregonensis for shelter.[9]
References
- ^ "Balanus nubilus Darwin, 1854". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=656266. Retrieved June 14, 2011.
- ^ Richard Martin (1997). "View from on top: mine's bigger than yours!". WaveLength Magazine. http://www.wavelengthmagazine.com/1997/fm97view.html.
- ^ a b "Balanus nubilus". The Race Rocks taxonomy. Race Rocks Ecological Reserve / Marine Protected Area. December 2002. http://www.racerocks.com/racerock/eco/taxalab/bio2002/balanusn.htm. Retrieved December 31, 2009.
- ^ Graham Hoyle & Thomas Smyth Jr. (1963). "Giant muscle fibers in a barnacle, Balanus nubilus Darwin". Science 139 (3549): 49–50. doi:10.1126/science.139.3549.49. PMID 17752025.
- ^ Robert H. Morris, Donald Putnam Abbott & Eugene Clinton Haderlie (1980). Intertidal invertebrates of California. Stanford University Press. pp. 690. ISBN 9780804710459. http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=NAybxQZvWI0C&pg=PA525&lpg=PA525.
- ^ James M. Watanabe (October 10, 2009). "Phylum Arthropoda, Subph. Crustacea: Subtidal Barnacles, Crabs, Shrimp, & Kin". SeaNet: Common Marine Organisms of Monterey Bay, California. http://seanet.stanford.edu/Crustacea/index.html.
- ^ David W. Jamison. "Giant acorn barnacle Balanus nubilus". Tour Puget Sound habitats and marine life. http://www.pugetsoundsealife.com/habitats+sealife/Giant_Acorn_Barnacle.html. Retrieved December 31, 2009.
- ^ "Facts about Balanus nubilus: edibility, as discussed in cirripede (crustacean): Importance to humans:". Encyclopaedia Britannica. http://www.britannica.com/facts/5/409474/Balanus-nubilus-as-discussed-in-cirripede-crustacean. Retrieved December 31, 2009.
- ^ "Marine Fossils and their Living Relatives". Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture. http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/collections/paleontology/marine/crabs.php. Retrieved December 31, 2009.