Bedazzling Barnacles

In one of the older popular cartoon series, Tintin, Captain Haddock is always shouting "Blistering Blue Barnacles" in times of troubles. Ironically enough, many people do not know what barnacles are, and you certainly wouldn't call on them in times of troubles.

Wikipedia defines barnacles as follows: A barnacle is a type of arthropod belonging to infraclass Cirripedia in the subphylum Crustacea, and is hence distantly related to crabs and lobsters. Barnacles are exclusively marine, and tend to live in shallow and tidal waters, typically in erosive settings. There are a lot of other details, but most is a bit complicated. The website link is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barnacle

Where do you find them? In the sea! They are frequently stuck on pieces of driftwood or rubbish; every now and then, one finds some really big ones lying loose on the beach. In most of the world though, they are not blistering (though can look like blisters on boat hulls), not usually blue, but definitely are barnacles, and can actually be bedazzling!

There are several; types of barnacles, mostly found attached to rocks, clams, oysters, and just about anything in the sea that they can glue onto! They can be tiny little things stuck on fishing floats or even blades of seaweed. They live with crabs, can attach to the bellies of Humpback Whales or the carapace of a giant sea turtle! Barnacles are not parasitic, taking nutrients from their host or causing any harm, but merely living on their little space and going on quietly about their life.

They start as microscopic blobs floating around the sea, looking for the right place to attach. How do they know the right place? It will have a good supply of nutrient with just the right water flow, the beasty knows! Many species are specific and need a hard non-porous surface (Fishing boats sailing vessels work well for this), others like something softer. The baby barnacle hits the right surface and place, then sticks and starts to excrete a shell.

The shells look like miniature volcanoes with the creature living in the centre. Once fixed onto a surface, they are stuck for life! The one's on animals such as whales or turtles are unusual in that they, unlike many shell bearing species, can adapt and tolerate a wide range conditions during their lifetime, from the surface of the sea to depths of several thousand feet.

Living quietly, being adaptable and tolerant, and getting to travel, maybe those barnacles could teach humans something!