Platylepas hexastylos | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Subphylum: | Crustacea |
Class: | Thecostraca |
Subclass: | Cirripedia |
Order: | Balanomorpha |
Family: | Coronulidae |
Genus: | Platylepas |
Species: | P. hexastylos |
Binomial name | |
Platylepas hexastylos | |
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 (Dugong dugon), the green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas), [2] the olive ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea), [3] or the loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta). [4]
Some species of barnacle settle on either a solid substrate or on a living host, but others are obligate commensals, and this latter group includes P. hexastylos. In a study of stranded turtles on the coast of southern Brazil, P. hexastylos and Chelonibia testudinaria were the barnacles most often encountered. Some turtles had as many as three species of barnacle, and P. hexastylos was often associated with the bay barnacle (Balanus improvisus). In general the barnacles were encrusted on the marginal scutes or the rear of the turtle, but P. hexastylos encrusted securely on soft tissues causing deep wounds. Up to eight P. hexastylos were found on individual turtles. [4]
The dugong is a medium-sized marine mammal. It is one of four living species of the order Sirenia, which also includes three species of manatees. It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its closest modern relative, Steller's sea cow, was hunted to extinction in the 18th century.
Sea turtles, sometimes called marine turtles, are reptiles of the order Testudines and of the suborder Cryptodira. The seven existing species of sea turtles are the green sea turtle, loggerhead sea turtle, Kemp's ridley sea turtle, olive ridley sea turtle, hawksbill sea turtle, flatback sea turtle, and leatherback sea turtle. All six of the sea turtle species present in US waters are listed as endangered and/or threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The seventh sea turtle species is the Flatback, which exists in the waters of Australia, Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. Sea turtles can be separated into the categories of hard-shelled (cheloniid) and leathery-shelled (dermochelyid). There is only one dermochelyid species which is the leatherback sea turtle.
A barnacle is a type of arthropod constituting the subclass Cirripedia in the subphylum Crustacea, and is hence related to crabs and lobsters. Barnacles are exclusively marine, and tend to live in shallow and tidal waters, typically in erosive settings. They are sessile (nonmobile) and most are suspension feeders, but those in infraclass Rhizocephala are highly specialized parasites on crustaceans. They have four nektonic larval stages. Around 1,000 barnacle species are currently known. The name "Cirripedia" is Latin, meaning "curl-footed". The study of barnacles is called cirripedology.
The tiger shark is a species of requiem shark and the only extant member of the genus Galeocerdo. It is a large macropredator, capable of attaining a length over 5 m. Populations are found in many tropical and temperate waters, especially around central Pacific islands. Its name derives from the dark stripes down its body, which resemble a tiger's pattern, but fade as the shark matures.
Cheloniidae is a family of typically large marine turtles that are characterised by their common traits such as, having a flat streamlined wide and rounded shell and almost paddle-like flippers for their forelimbs. The six species that make up this family are: the green sea turtle, loggerhead sea turtle, olive ridley sea turtle, hawksbill sea turtle, flatback sea turtle and the Kemp's ridley sea turtle.
The loggerhead sea turtle, is a species of oceanic turtle distributed throughout the world. It is a marine reptile, belonging to the family Cheloniidae. The average loggerhead measures around 90 cm (35 in) in carapace length when fully grown. The adult loggerhead sea turtle weighs approximately 135 kg (298 lb), with the largest specimens weighing in at more than 450 kg (1,000 lb). The skin ranges from yellow to brown in color, and the shell is typically reddish brown. No external differences in sex are seen until the turtle becomes an adult, the most obvious difference being the adult males have thicker tails and shorter plastrons than the females.
The green sea turtle, also known as the green turtle, black (sea) turtle or Pacific green turtle, is a species of large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. It is the only species in the genus Chelonia. Its range extends throughout tropical and subtropical seas around the world, with two distinct populations in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, but it is also found in the Indian Ocean. The common name refers to the usually green fat found beneath its carapace, not to the color of its carapace, which is olive to black.
Fernando de Noronha Marine National Park is a national park in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil.
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.
The National Marine Park of Zakynthos founded in 1999, is a national park located in Laganas bay, in Zakynthos island, Greece. The park, part of the Natura 2000 ecological network, covers an area of 135 square kilometres (52 sq mi) and is the habitat of the loggerhead sea turtle. It is the first national park established for the protection of sea turtles in the Mediterranean.
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.
The term stable isotope has a meaning similar to stable nuclide, but is preferably used when speaking of nuclides of a specific element. Hence, the plural form stable isotopes usually refers to isotopes of the same element. The relative abundance of such stable isotopes can be measured experimentally, yielding an isotope ratio that can be used as a research tool. Theoretically, such stable isotopes could include the radiogenic daughter products of radioactive decay, used in radiometric dating. However, the expression stable-isotope ratio is preferably used to refer to isotopes whose relative abundances are affected by isotope fractionation in nature. This field is termed stable isotope geochemistry.
The Gnaraloo Turtle Conservation Program (GTCP) is an environmental organisation based at the Gnaraloo pastoral station and run by the Gnaraloo Wilderness Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation. The aim of the GTCP is to identify, monitor and protect the nesting beaches of loggerhead sea turtles found at two locations on the Gnaraloo coastline. These two rookeries contribute to the South-East Indian Ocean subpopulation of loggerhead turtles, with other major nesting sites for this sub-population at Dirk Hartog island and Exmouth. This is within the southern boundaries of the Ningaloo Coast marine area, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The loggerhead sea turtle, is protected under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973. It was originally listed as a threatened species on July 28, 1978. The turtle's status was updated to Vulnerable (VU) on August 23, 2018. The loggerhead turtle is the most prolific species of sea turtle in U.S. coastal waters.
Platylepas is a genus of barnacles in the family Platylepadidae of the subphylum Crustacea.
Platylepas ophiophila, commonly known as the sea snake barnacle, is a species of barnacle in the family Platylepadidae. It is native to the Indo-Pacific Ocean where it lives as a symbiont of a sea snake.
Chelonibia testudinaria is a species of barnacle in the family Chelonibiidae. It is native to the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea and Gulf of Mexico where it lives as a symbiont on sea turtles, being particularly abundant on the loggerhead sea turtle.
The Robberg Marine Protected Area is an inshore conservation region in the territorial waters of South Africa, near Plettenberg Bay in the Western Cape province.
The Goukamma Marine Protected Area is an inshore conservation region near Knysna in the territorial waters of South Africa
The East African coral coast is a marine ecoregion along the eastern coast of Africa. It extends along the coasts of Kenya, Tanzania, and northern Mozambique, from Lamu in Kenya to Angoche in Mozambique. It adjoins the Northern Monsoon Current Coast ecoregion to the north, and the Bight of Sofala/Swamp Coast ecoregion to the south.