''Platylepas hexastylos'' is a species of

barnacle Barnacles are arthropods of the subclass (taxonomy), subclass Cirripedia in the subphylum Crustacean, Crustacea. They are related to crabs and lobsters, with similar Nauplius (larva), nauplius larvae. Barnacles are exclusively marine invertebra ...

in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Platylepadidae In the past, Platylepadidae has been considered a family of barnacles of the order Sessilia. Research published in 2021 by Chan et al. resulted in the genera of Platylepadidae being merged with that of Balanidae The Balanidae is a family of ba ...

. It is native to the Indo-Pacific Ocean where it lives as a

symbiont Symbiosis (Ancient Greek : living with, companionship < : together; and ''bíōsis'': living) is any type of a close and long-term biological interaction, between two organisms of different species. The two organisms, termed symbionts, can fo ...

of such large marine creatures as the

dugong The dugong (; ''Dugong dugon'') is a marine mammal. It is one of four living species of the order Sirenia, which also includes three species of manatees. It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its closest ...

(''Dugong dugon''), the

green sea turtle The green sea turtle (''Chelonia mydas''), also known as the green turtle, black (sea) turtle or Pacific green turtle, is a species of large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. It is the only species in the genus ''Chelonia''. Its range exte ...

(''Chelonia mydas''), the

olive ridley sea turtle The olive ridley sea turtle (''Lepidochelys olivacea''), also known commonly as the Pacific ridley sea turtle, is a species of turtle in the family Cheloniidae. The species is the second-smallest and most abundant of all sea turtles found in t ...

(''Lepidochelys olivacea''), or the

loggerhead sea turtle The loggerhead sea turtle (''Caretta caretta'') is a species of sea turtle, oceanic turtle distributed throughout the world. It is a marine reptile, belonging to the Family (biology), family Cheloniidae. The average loggerhead measures around ...

(''Caretta caretta'').

Ecology

Some species of barnacle settle on either a solid

substrate Substrate may refer to: Physical layers *Substrate (biology), the natural environment in which an organism lives, or the surface or medium on which an organism grows or is attached ** Substrate (aquatic environment), the earthy material that exi ...

or on a living host, but others are obligate

commensal Commensalism is a long-term biological interaction (symbiosis) in which members of one species gain benefits while those of the other species neither benefit nor are harmed. This is in contrast with mutualism, in which both organisms benefit f ...

s, and this latter group includes ''P. hexastylos''. In a study of stranded turtles on the coast of southern Brazil, ''P. hexastylos'' and '' Chelonibia testudinaria'' were the barnacles most often encountered. Some turtles had as many as three species of barnacle, and ''P. hexastylos'' was often associated with the bay barnacle (''Balanus improvisus''). In general the barnacles were encrusted on the marginal scutes or the rear of the turtle, but ''P. hexastylos'' encrusted securely on soft tissues causing deep wounds. Up to eight ''P. hexastylos'' were found on individual turtles.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4300971 Barnacles Crustaceans described in 1798 Taxa named by Otto Fabricius