Dosima fascicularis

Last updated

Dosima fascicularis
Dosimafascicularis.JPG
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Thecostraca
Subclass: Cirripedia
Order: Scalpellomorpha
Family: Lepadidae
Genus: Dosima
Species:
D. fascicularis
Binomial name
Dosima fascicularis
(Ellis & Solander, 1786)  [1]
Synonyms   [2]
  • Lepas fascicularisEllis & Solander, 1786
  • Lepas cygneaSpengler, 1790
  • Lepas dilataDonovan, 1804
  • Pentalasmis spirulicolaLeach, 1818
  • Pentalasmis donovaniLeach, 1818
  • Anatiffia vitreaLamarck, Coates, 1829
  • Lepas fasciculataMontagu, Coates, 1829
  • Pentalepas vitreaLesson, 1830
  • Anatifa oceanicaQuoy & Gaimard in Dumont d'Urville, 1832-1835
Group of buoy barnacles attached to a float they constructed themselves Dosima fascicularis - Tigh Slea Head.JPG
Group of buoy barnacles attached to a float they constructed themselves

Dosima fascicularis, the buoy barnacle, is "the most specialised pleustonic goose barnacle" species. [3] It hangs downwards from the water surface, held up by a float of its own construction, and is carried along by ocean currents.

Contents

Flotation

As an adult, D. fascicularis lives attached to a float made either of natural flotsam or of a cement it secretes itself, which has a texture like that of expanded polystyrene foam. [4] It is the only barnacle to produce its own gas-filled float. [2] The cyprid larvae are planktonic, and must attach to a float for metamorphosis into the adult form, but the adults are eventually capable of using their own float, sometimes forming aggregations of many individuals attached to a single float. Among the floats used by adult buoy barnacles are pellets of tar, [5] seaweeds, [2] [6] plastic debris, [6] driftwood, [6] feathers, [2] [3] cranberries, [2] cuttlefish bone, [2] the "by-the-wind-sailor" Velella velella , seagrass leaves, [3] Styrofoam, [5] seeds, [5] and even apples; [2] they have even been known to colonise the backs of turtles [7] and the sea snake Pelamis platurus . [8] It is a fugitive species, which can be out-competed by other barnacle species, and relies on being able to colonise surfaces and reproduce quickly; after settling on a float, D. fascicularis can reproduce within 45 days. [9] D. fascicularis appears to be increasing in abundance as a result of anthropogenic marine debris accumulating in the sea; [5] this source of floats was of "minor importance" in 1974. [3]

Although formerly placed in the genus Lepas , the buoy barnacle is now generally placed in the genus Dosima. Dosima is distinguished from Lepas by the form of the carina, and by the exceptional thinness and brittleness of its exoskeleton. [10]

Distribution

D. fascicularis has a cosmopolitan distribution, with a preference for temperate seas, [11] having been found at latitudes from 71° North off Siberia to 57° South near Cape Horn. [2] Groups have been observed journeying from Japan to the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean, [2] and sometimes wash up on westerly and southerly beaches in the British Isles, as well as westerly beaches further south in Europe. [4] [12] It is not normally found in the Mediterranean Sea, but may have begun to colonise there from the Atlantic Ocean. [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barnacle</span> Infraclass of sessile marine crustaceans

Barnacles are arthropods of the subclass Cirripedia in the subphylum Crustacea. They are related to crabs and lobsters, with similar nauplius larvae. Barnacles are exclusively marine invertebrates; many species live in shallow and tidal waters. Some 2,100 species have been described.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goose barnacle</span> Type of barnacle

Goose barnacles, also called 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.

<i>Amphibalanus improvisus</i> Species of barnacle

Amphibalanus improvisus, the bay barnacle, European acorn barnacle, is a species of acorn barnacle in the family Balanidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow-bellied sea snake</span> Species of snake

The yellow-bellied sea snake is a venomous species of snake from the subfamily Hydrophiinae found in tropical oceanic waters around the world except for the Atlantic Ocean. For many years, it was placed in the monotypic genus Pelamis, but recent molecular evidence indicates it lies within the genus Hydrophis.

Calcinus tubularis is a species of hermit crab. It is found in the Mediterranean Sea and around islands in the Atlantic Ocean, where it lives below the intertidal zone. Its carapace, eyestalks and claws are marked with numerous red spots. C. tubularis and its sister species, C. verrilli, are the only hermit crabs known to show sexual dimorphism in shell choice, with males using normal marine gastropod shells, while females use shells of gastropods in the family Vermetidae, which are attached to rocks or other hard substrates.

Megabalanus stultus is a species of barnacle first described by Charles Darwin in 1854. It lives on fire corals of the genus Millepora in the Atlantic Ocean from Florida to southern Brazil.

<i>Lepas anserifera</i> Species of barnacle

Lepas anserifera is a species of goose barnacle or stalked barnacle in the family Lepadidae. It lives attached to floating timber, ships' hulls and various sorts of flotsam.

<i>Lepas anatifera</i> Species of barnacle

Lepas anatifera, commonly known as the pelagic gooseneck barnacle or smooth gooseneck barnacle, is a species of barnacle in the family Lepadidae. These barnacles are found, often in large numbers, attached by their flexible stalks to floating timber, the hulls of ships, piers, pilings, seaweed, and various sorts of flotsam.

<i>Chelonibia</i> Genus of barnacles

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chthamaloidea</span> Superfamily of barnacles

The Chthamaloidea are a subdivision of Balanomorpha proposed by Newman and Ross to include barnacles with shell wall composed of rostrum, carina, and one to three pairs of latera, rarely supplemented with one or more whorls of basal imbricating plates. The rostrolatus enters the sheath, but rarely fuses with the rostrum, as in the three higher superfamilies. Shell plates are simple in construction, solid, and incorporate organic chitin between carbonate layers. Opercular plates are deeply interlocked, and in some genera, may become concrescent with age. Soft part morphology includes concave labrum without notch in the central part. Cirrus III more resembles Cirrus IV than II, or may be intermediate in structure. Caudal appendages present in some species.

The Catophragmidae are a family of barnacles in the superfamily Chthamaloidea with eight shell wall plates, surrounded by several whorls of imbricating plates. The basis is membranous.

Chamaesipho is a genus of four-plated notochthamaline barnacles in the Pacific Ocean limited to Australian/New Zealand temperate waters. They are intertidal in preference, and tend to form crowded columnar colonies. They can be identified in the field by having a four-plated wall, an unfused rostrum, and narrow opercular plates. Elminius, which also inhabits the same area, has four plates in its shell wall. However, in Elminius, the rostrum and rostrolatera are fused completely, and the compound rostrum receives the alae of the adjacent carinolaterals. In Chamaesipho, the unfused rostrum bears alae, and closely resembles the carina in appearance.

<i>Chamaesipho columna</i> Species of barnacle

Chamaesipho columna is the type species for the barnacle genus Chamaesipho. Originally, species concept, as refined by Darwin472 consisted of C. columna. Spengler's 1790 description included specimens from "Otaheite" (Tahiti), which were far larger than any of the three described species. As Chamaesipho is restricted to Australia and New Zealand, and Spengler's Tahiti material lacked opercular plates, it is no longer included as Chamaesipho. Spengler's written description agrees with Chamaesipho.472 Spengler's Tahiti material is thought to be New Zealand Epopella, mislabeled.

<i>Coronula diadema</i> Species of whale barnacle

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.

Vulcanolepas osheai, commonly referred to as O'Shea's vent barnacle, is a stalked barnacle of the family Neolepadidae. This species is endemic to New Zealand.

<i>Platylepas hexastylos</i> Species of barnacle

Platylepas hexastylos is a species of barnacle in the family Platylepadidae. It is native to the Indo-Pacific Ocean where it lives as a symbiont of such large marine creatures as the dugong, the green sea turtle, the olive ridley sea turtle, or the loggerhead sea turtle.

<i>Conchoderma virgatum</i> Species of crustacean

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.

<i>Cryptolepas rhachianecti</i> Species of whale barnacle

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.

<i>Lepas testudinata</i> Species of barnacle

Lepas testudinata is a species of goose barnacle in the family Lepadidae. First observed in 1834, Lepas testudinata has undergone several reclassifications, and its relationship to other Lepas species is still the subject of ongoing research. L. testudinata is endemic to temperate waters in the China Seas, Australian Sea, and the Indo-West Pacific, and there are two distinct subgroups within the species. This barnacle species exclusively colonizes free-floating debris and tidewrack, and can form colonies of over 1000 members at a time. Due to this colonization habit, L. testudinata plays a role in biofouling and often serves as a foundation species when preyed upon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ocean surface ecosystem</span>

Organisms that live freely at the ocean surface, termed neuston, include keystone organisms like the golden seaweed Sargassum that makes up the Sargasso Sea, floating barnacles, marine snails, nudibranchs, and cnidarians. Many ecologically and economically important fish species live as or rely upon neuston. Species at the surface are not distributed uniformly; the ocean's surface provides habitat for unique neustonic communities and ecoregions found at only certain latitudes and only in specific ocean basins. But the surface is also on the front line of climate change and pollution. Life on the ocean's surface connects worlds. From shallow waters to the deep sea, the open ocean to rivers and lakes, numerous terrestrial and marine species depend on the surface ecosystem and the organisms found there.

References

  1. "Dosima fascicularis (Ellis and Solander, 1786)". Integrated Taxonomic Information System . Retrieved February 27, 2011.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Norman E. Weisbord (1979). "Lepadomorph and verrucomorph barnacles (Cirripedia) of Florida and adjacent waters, with an addendum on the Rhizocephala". Bulletins of American Paleontology . 76 (306): 1–156.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Lanna Cheng; Ralph A. Lewin (1974). "Goose barnacles (Cirripedia: Thoracica) on flotsam beached at La Jolla, California" (PDF). Fishery Bulletin . 74 (1): 212–217.
  4. 1 2 Guy Baker, Marine Life Information Network for Britain and Ireland (November 18, 2006). "Beach life". New Scientist . 2578: 83.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Dan Minchin (1996). "Tar pellets and plastics as attachment surfaces for lepadid cirripedes in the North Atlantic Ocean". Marine Pollution Bulletin . 32 (12): 855–859. Bibcode:1996MarPB..32..855M. doi:10.1016/S0025-326X(96)00045-8.
  6. 1 2 3 Martin Thiel; Lars Gutow (2005). "The ecology of rafting in the marine environment II: the rafting organisms and community" (PDF). Oceanography and Marine Biology: An Annual Review . 43: 279–418. doi:10.1201/9781420037449.ch7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-24.
  7. The Epibiont Research Cooperative (2007). "A synopsis of the literature on the turtle barnacles (Cirripedia: Balanomorpha: Cornuloidea) 1758–2007" (PDF). Epibiont Research Cooperative Special Publication. No. 1 (ERC–SP1): 62 pp.{{cite journal}}: |volume= has extra text (help)
  8. Fernando Alvarez; Antonio Celis (2004). "On the occurrence of Conchoderma virgatum and Dosima fascicularis (Cirripedia, Thoracica) on the sea snake Pelamis platurus (Reptilia, Serpentes) in Jalisco, Mexico". Crustaceana . 77 (6): 761–764. doi:10.1163/1568540041958536. JSTOR   20105754.
  9. W. O. Blankley (1985). "Extreme r-selection in Lepas fascicularis within the Natal offshore fouling community". South African Journal of Science . 81: 701. Cited in Alvarez & Celis (2004).
  10. Iván Hinojosa; Sebastián Boltaña; Domingo Lancellotti; Erasmo Macaya; Pabla Ugalde; Nelson Valdivia; Nelson Vásquez; William A. Newman; Martin Thiel (2006). "Geographic distribution and description of four pelagic barnacles along the south east Pacific coast of Chile - a zoogeographical approximation". Revista Chilena de Historia Natural . 79 (1): 13–27. doi: 10.4067/S0716-078X2006000100002 . hdl: 1893/19357 .
  11. Diana S. Jones (2003). "The biogeography of Western Australian shallow-water barnacles". In F. E. Wells; D. I. Walker; D. S. Jones (eds.). The Marine Flora and Fauna of Dampier, Western Australia (PDF). Western Australian Museum, Perth. pp. 479–496. ISBN   978-1-920843-07-6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-10-03. Retrieved 2009-12-03.
  12. P. J. Hayward; M. J. Isaac; P. Makings; J. Moyse; E. Naylor; G. Smaldon (1995). "Crustaceans". In P. J. Hayward; John Stanley Ryland (eds.). Handbook of the Marine Fauna of North-west Europe. Oxford University Press. pp. 289–461. ISBN   978-0-19-854055-7.
  13. M. Sciberras; P. J. Schembri (2007). "A critical review of records of alien marine species from the Maltese Islands and surrounding waters (Central Mediterranean)". Mediterranean Marine Science . 8 (1): 41–66. doi: 10.12681/mms.162 .