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Kōrero: Crabs, rock lobsters and other crustaceans

Whale barnacle

Whale barnacle

Whale barnacles (Coronula diadema) attach themselves to the throat and belly of humpback whales. The barnacle shell is made up of a series of calcium carbonate plates. The animal lives within these, attached by its head to a bottom plate that is embedded in the skin of a whale.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Auckland War Memorial Museum Tamaki Paenga Hira

Reference: 89594

Permission of the Auckland War Memorial Museum Tamaki Paenga Hira must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

Niel Bruce rāua ko Alison MacDiarmid, Crabs, rock lobsters and other crustaceans – Barnacles and copepods, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/object/8249/whale-barnacle (accessed 4 June 2026).

He kōrero nā Niel Bruce rāua ko Alison MacDiarmid, i tāngia i te 2 March 2009.

Comments

Seb
28 October 2015
What is the function of those groups of three openings on the sides of the barnacle?