Balanus

''Balanus'' is a genus of barnacles in the family Balanidae of the subphylum Crustacea.

This genus is known in the fossil record from the Jurassic to the Quaternary periods (age range: from 189.6 to 0.0 million years ago.). Fossil shells within this genus have been found all over the world.Fossilworks
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Description

The bodies of these organisms are totally enclosed by a stony gray-whitish shell. The size of these shells ranges from 5 millimeters to 10 centimeters. They take the form of a cone consisting of six plates fixed on the rocks. The active animal can only be observed within the water when the shell opens and the barnacles expose two branched appendages (cirri ) regularly hitting the water to catch food. They mainly feed on plankton.

Habitat

These barnacles can be found in coastal areas at low shallow depth, although they can also be seen living out of the water. They commonly colonize stones, rocks and shells. They are found in abundance on the shells of mussels.

Species

Species within the genus ''Balanus'' include:

*''Balanus balanus'' (Linnaeus, 1758)
*''Balanus bloxhamensis'' Weisbord, 1966
*''Balanus borsodensis'' Kolosváry, 1952
*''Balanus calidus'' Pilsbry, 1916
*''Balanus campbelli'' Filhol, 1886
*''Balanus chisletianus'' Sowerby, 1859
*''Balanus citerosum'' Henry, 1973
*''Balanus connelli'' Cornwall, 1927
*''Balanus crenatus'' Bruguiére, 1789
*''Balanus curvirostratus'' Menesini, 1968
*''Balanus darwinii'' Seguenza, 1876
*''Balanus ecuadoricus'' Pilsbry & Olson, 1951
*''Balanus flosculoidus'' Kolosváry, 1941
*''Balanus gizellae'' Kolosváry, 1967
*''Balanus glandula'' Darwin, 1854 (Common Acorn Barnacle)
*''Balanus hohmanni'' Philippi, 1887
*†''Balanus humilis'' Conrad, 1846 (extinct)
*†''Balanus imitator'' Zullo, 1984 (extinct)
*''Balanus irradians'' Zullo & Guruswami-Naidu, 1982
*''Balanus irregularis'' Broch, 1931
*''Balanus kanakoffi'' Zullo, 1969
*''Balanus kondakovi'' Tarasov & Zevina, 1957
*''Balanus laevis'' Bruguiere, 1789
*''Balanus laguairensis'' Weisbord, 1966
*''Balanus leonensis'' Weisbord, 1966
*''Balanus microstomus'' Philippi, 1887
*''Balanus minutus'' Hoek, 1913
*''Balanus mirabilis'' Krüger, 1912
*''Balanus newburnensis'' Weisbord, 1966
*''Balanus nubilus'' Darwin, 1854 (Giant acorn barnacle)
*''Balanus ochlockoneensis'' Weisbord, 1966
*''Balanus pannonicus'' Kolosváry, 1952
*''Balanus parkeri'' Zullo, 1967
*''Balanus perforatus'' Bruguiére, 1789
*''Balanus poecilus'' Darwin, 1854
*''Balanus polyporus'' Pilbry, 1924
*''Balanus provisoricus'' Kolosváry, 1961
*''Balanus pulchellus'' Ren, 1989
*''Balanus rhizophorae'' Ren & Liu, 1978
*''Balanus rostratus'' Hoek, 1883 (Minefujitsubo)Scientific Name ／ Balanus rostratus Hoek,1883
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*''Balanus sauntonensis'' Parfitt, 1871
*''Balanus similis'' Weltner, 1922
*''Balanus spongicola'' Brown, 1844
*''Balanus subalbidus'' Henry, 1974
*''Balanus tamiamiensis'' Ross, 1964
*'' Balanus trigonus'' Darwin, 1854
*''Balanus tuboperforatus'' Kolosváry, 1962
*''Balanus tumorifer'' Kolosváry, 1962
*''Balanus uliginosis'' Henry, 1973
*''Balanus vadaszi'' Kolosváry, 1949
*''Balanus veneticensis'' Seguenza, 1876
*'' Balanus withersi'' Pilsbry, 1930

The species ''Balanus balanoides'' (common barnacle, common rock barnacle, northern rock barnacle) has been reclassified as ''Semibalanus balanoides'' in the family Archaeobalanidae, due to its membranous base.

References

External links

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{{Taxonbar, from=Q2336729

Barnacles
Pliensbachian first appearances
Extant Early Jurassic first appearances
Taxa named by Emanuel Mendes da Costa