| Cryptolepas rhachianecti | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Thecostraca |
| Subclass: | Cirripedia |
| Order: | Balanomorpha |
| Family: | Coronulidae |
| Genus: | Cryptolepas |
| Species: | C. rhachianecti |
| Binomial name | |
| Cryptolepas rhachianecti | |
Cryptolepas rhachianecti is a species of whale barnacle that lives as a passenger on the skin of gray whales and certain other species of whale in the northern Pacific Ocean.
Cryptolepas rhachianecti can grow to a diameter of 3.8 cm (1.5 in). [2]
The species is now only known from the northern Pacific Ocean where gray whales are found. The gray whale was present in the northern Atlantic Ocean between the Late Pleistocene and recent times, and C. rhachianecti fossils have been found on a beach in the Netherlands, showing that the barnacle must also have been present. [3] This barnacle has been found between January and March for several years in captive beluga whales in San Diego Bay, near a route used by migratory gray whales. The barnacles have evoked a skin reaction in the beluga whales resulting in the eviction of the barnacles, which suggests an immune response. [4]
This barnacle is exclusively found attached to the skin of whales, almost always to the gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus), but occasionally it has been found on the killer whale (Orcinus orca) and the beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas). [5] On the gray whale, the barnacles embed themselves deeply in the skin and are mostly clustered on the animal's head and back. Crawling among the barnacles and taking advantage of the protection they provide are several species of ectoparasitic crustaceans known as whale lice, including the gray whale louse Cyamus scammoni and the generalist whale lice Cyamus ceti and Cyamus kessleri . So common are these that an adult gray whale may be carrying several hundred pounds weight of barnacles and lice. [2] Gray whales have been observed rubbing their bodies against pebbly seabeds in an apparent effort to rid themselves of attached organisms. [2]
Eschrichtiidae or the gray whales is a family of baleen whale with a single extant species, the gray whale, as well as four described fossil genera: Archaeschrichtius (Miocene), Glaucobalaena and Eschrichtioides (Pliocene) from Italy, and Gricetoides from the Pliocene of North Carolina. Some phylogenetic studies have found this family to be invalid, with its members nesting inside of the clade Balaenopteridae. The names of the extant genus and the family honours Danish zoologist Daniel Eschricht.
The gray whale, also known as the grey whale, is a baleen whale that migrates between feeding and breeding grounds yearly. It reaches a length of 14.9 meters (49 ft), a weight of up to 41 tonnes (90,000 lb) and lives between 55 and 70 years, although one female was estimated to be 75–80 years of age. The common name of the whale comes from the gray patches and white mottling on its dark skin. Gray whales were once called devil fish because of their fighting behavior when hunted. The gray whale is the sole living species in the genus Eschrichtius. It is the sole living genus in the family Eschrichtiidae, however some recent studies classify it as a member of the family Balaenopteridae. This mammal is descended from filter-feeding whales that appeared during the Neogene.
The narwhal is a species of toothed whale native to the Arctic. It is the only member of the genus Monodon and one of two living representatives of the family Monodontidae. The narwhal has a similar build to the closely related beluga whale, with which it overlaps in range and can interbreed. It is a stocky cetacean, with a relatively blunt snout and large melon. Males of this species have a large 1.5–3.0 m long tusk, which is a left protruded canine thought to serve as a weapon or as a tool for feeding, attracting mates or sensing water salinity. Specially adapted slow-twitch muscles, along with the jointed neck vertebrae and shallow dorsal ridge allow for easy movement through the Arctic environment, where the narwhal spends extended periods at great depths.
The beluga whale is an Arctic and sub-Arctic cetacean. It is one of two members of the family Monodontidae, along with the narwhal, and the only member of the genus Delphinapterus. It is also known as the white whale, as it is the only cetacean to regularly occur with this colour; the sea canary, due to its high-pitched calls; and the melonhead, though that more commonly refers to the melon-headed whale, which is an oceanic dolphin.
The cetacean family Monodontidae comprises two living whale species, the narwhal and the beluga whale and at least four extinct species, known from the fossil record. Beluga and Narwhal are native to coastal regions and pack ice around the Arctic Ocean. Both species are relatively small whales, 3–5 m (9.8–16.4 ft) in length, with a forehead melon, and a short or absent snout. Premaxillary teeth are absent. They do not have a true dorsal fin, but do have a narrow ridge running along the back, which is much more pronounced in the narwhal. They are highly vocal animals, communicating with a wide range of sounds. Like other whales, they also use echolocation to navigate. Belugas can be found in the far north of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans; the distribution of narwhals is restricted to the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans.
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispecific" or "monospecific" is sometimes preferred. In botanical nomenclature, a monotypic genus is a genus in the special case where a genus and a single species are simultaneously described.
Goose barnacles, also called percebes or turtle-claw barnacles or stalked barnacles or gooseneck barnacles, are filter-feeding crustaceans that live attached to hard surfaces of rocks and flotsam in the ocean intertidal zone. Goose barnacles formerly made up the taxonomic order Pedunculata, but the group has been found to be polyphyletic, with its members scattered across multiple orders of the infraclass Thoracica.
The Cumberland Sound belugas are a distinct population of belugas residing in the Cumberland Sound region of the Labrador Sea off the coast of Nunavut, Canada Individuals of this population reside in the sound year-round, congregating in its extreme north exclusively at Clearwater Fjord during the summer for calving. The Cumberland Sound beluga population is considered fairly isolated and genetically distinct from other beluga populations, with a notable number of haplotypes and microsatellite loci not found elsewhere.
Whale barnacles are species of acorn barnacle that belong to the family Coronulidae. They typically attach to baleen whales, and sometimes settle on toothed whales. The whale barnacles diverged from the turtle barnacles about three million years ago.
Chelonibia is a genus of acorn barnacles in the family Chelonibiidae of the subphylum Crustacea. Its members are epizootic and live attached to manatees, turtles, marine molluscs, crabs and horseshoe crabs in all tropical and subtropical oceans. In a few instances, they have been found on sea snakes, alligators and inanimate substrates, but they are not found in the typical habitats of barnacles – on rocks, docks or boats.
Coronula diadema is a species of whale barnacle that lives on the skin of humpback whales and certain other species of whale. This species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in the 1767 12th edition of his Systema Naturae.
Conchoderma virgatum is a species of goose barnacle in the family Lepadidae. It is a pelagic species found in open water in most of the world's oceans attached to drifting objects or marine organisms.
Benny is a beluga whale that made headlines in the United Kingdom in September 2018 after being sighted travelling towards London through the Thames Estuary. Benny was sighted several times over the ensuing weeks after his discovery in the Estuary, and appears to be healthy despite appearing alone.
A narluga is a hybrid born from mating a female narwhal and a male beluga whale. Narwhals and beluga whales are both cetaceans found in the High Arctic and are the only two living members of the family Monodontidae.
Pollicipes elegans, the Pacific goose barnacle, is a species of gooseneck barnacle inhabiting the tropical coastline of the eastern Pacific Ocean. Its habitat borders a close relative, Pollicipes polymerus, a gooseneck barnacle covering the coastline of the Pacific Northwest. Other species belonging to the genus Pollicipes are found along the eastern coastlines of the Atlantic Ocean.