Not to be confused withBuoy Barnacles
| Goose barnacle | |
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| Pollicipes pollicipes | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Thecostraca |
| Subclass: | Cirripedia |
| Infraclass: | Thoracica |
| Order: | Pedunculata Lamarck, 1818 |
Goose barnacles, also calledpercebes (sg.percebe[1]),turtle-claw barnacles,stalked barnacles,gooseneck barnacles, arefilter-feedingcrustaceans that live attached to hard surfaces ofrocks andflotsam in the oceanintertidal zone. Goose barnacles formerly made up the taxonomicorderPedunculata, but the group has been found to bepolyphyletic, with its members scattered across multiple orders of the infraclassThoracica.[2][3][4]
They attach themselves to rocks withpeduncles (stalks) of toe-like girth, hence theirRomance namepercebe (from Latinpollicipedem fusingpollex 'thumb' andpes 'foot').[1]
Some species of goose barnacles such asLepas anatifera arepelagic and are most frequently found ontidewrack on oceanic coasts. Unlike most other types ofbarnacles, intertidal goose barnacles (e.g.Pollicipes pollicipes andPollicipes polymerus) depend on water motion rather than the movement of theircirri for feeding, so are found only on exposed or moderately exposed coasts.
In the days beforebirds were known tomigrate,barnacle geese,Branta leucopsis, were thought to have developed from this crustacean throughspontaneous generation, since they were never seen tonest in temperate Europe,[5] hence theEnglish names "goose barnacle" and "barnacle goose", and the scientific nameLepas anserifera (Latin:anser, "goose"). The confusion was prompted by their similarities in colour and shape. Because they were often found ondriftwood, the barnacles were assumed to be attached to branches before they fell in the water. Thearchdeacon ofBrecon,Gerald of Wales, made this claim in hisTopographia Hiberniae.[6]
Since barnacle geese were thought to be "neither flesh, nor born of flesh", they were allowed to be eaten ondays when eating meat was forbidden by someChristian churches,[5] though it was not universally accepted.Holy Roman EmperorFrederick II examined barnacles and noted no evidence of any bird-like embryo in them, and the secretary ofLev of Rozmital wrote a very skeptical account of his reaction to being served the goose at a fast-day dinner in 1456.[7]
One component of L. anatifera that continues to be researched today is the adhesive properties of its secretion. Following an observational study regarding the adhesive properties of goose barnacle, its adhesive gland cells were located inside the muscle layer on the back side of the main stalk (peduncle). These glands secrete protein-based adhesive to make attaching the barnacles to fixed or mobile entities possible. This research in the barnacle adhesive serves as inspiration to the healthcare community to conduct their own research in an attempt to improve medical adhesive.[8]
InPortugal andSpain,P. pollicipes is a widely consumed and expensive delicacy known aspercebes, which are harvested commercially on the northern Iberian coast, mainly inGalicia andAsturias, and on the southwestern Portuguese coast (Alentejo), as well as imported from other countries within its range of distribution, particularly fromMorocco. A larger species (P. polymerus) was also exported fromCanada, until theDepartment of Fisheries and Oceans closed thisfishery on 31 May 1999.[9]
In Spain,percebes are lightly boiled in brine and served whole and hot under a napkin. To eat them, the diamond-shaped foot is pinched between thumb and finger and the inner tube pulled out of the scaly case. The claw is removed and the remaining flesh is swallowed.[10] Historically, theindigenous peoples of California ate the stem after cooking it in hot ashes.[11]
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