''Notochthamalus scabrosus'', the only species in the genus ''Notochthamalus'', is a species of

barnacle 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 eros ...

found along the south-western and south-eastern coasts of

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

, from

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

to the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouzet ...

. The species is found almost exclusively higher in the

intertidal zone The intertidal zone, also known as the foreshore, is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide (in other words, the area within the tidal range). This area can include several types of habitats with various species o ...

than the mussel ''Perumytilus'', often codistributed with the confamilial barnacle '' Jehlius cirratus'' and '' Balanus flosculus''.

Diagnosis and discussion

''Notochthamalus'' is composed of 6 compartmental plates, composed of a carina, rostrum, and paired carinolatera and rostrolatera. Sutures between plates made up of poorly developed oblique folded laminae with membraneous basis. Plates are colored dull purplish brown, weathering to gray. Free-growing shellis are conic, crowded colonies become cylindrical, with plate sutures obscured. Opercular plates are narrow and deeply interlocked. The interior of the

tergum A ''tergum'' (Latin for "the back"; plural ''terga'', associated adjective tergal) is the Anatomical terms of location#Dorsal and ventral, dorsal ('upper') portion of an arthropod segment other than the head. The Anatomical terms of location#Ante ...

shows a tergal depressor muscle pit with overhang and no crests, or only relics thereof. Neither shell nor opercular plates show secondary fusion with age. The best character for field identification are the undulations along the tergal-scutal margins. Given the overall appearance of the operculum of ''Notochthamalus'', it is sometimes called the "vampire barnacle".

Nomenclature and synonymies

''Notochthamalus''

* ''Notochthamalus'' , 1987; (original description). * Type species: ''Chthamalus scabrosus'' , 1854: 468, original designation by Foster & Newman, 1987, and by monotypy.

''Notochthamalus scabrosus''

* ''Chthamalus scabrosus'' , 1854;468
(original description): Newman & Ross, 1976,42
(see for pre-1976 bibliography). * ''Notochthamalus scabrosus'' (). Foster & Newman, 1987, (generic re-assignment): , (discussion, supplementary description). * Type locality: Not given in Darwin, 1854, or Pilsbry, 1916. * Type specimens: Not given in Darwin, 1854. Pilsbry's 1916 reference specimens from Valparaiso,

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

are USNM No. 48089.323

Geographic range and habitat

''Notochthamalus scabrosus'' prefers exposed upper

littoral The littoral zone or nearshore is the part of a sea, lake, or river that is close to the shore. In coastal ecology, the littoral zone includes the intertidal zone extending from the high water mark (which is rarely inundated), to coastal areas ...

habitats, and can be found on the

n coastline from

through

, Chiloe Archipelago, and

Tierra del Fuego Tierra del Fuego (, ; Spanish for "Land of the Fire", rarely also Fireland in English) is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of the main island, Isla G ...

. It co-occurs there with '' Jehlius cirratus''. In the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

, it is very common on the

.468
ref name=OP06/>

References

External links

Barnacles Crustaceans of the Atlantic Ocean Crustaceans of the eastern Pacific Ocean Monotypic arthropod genera {{Maxillopoda-stub