Barnacles On Whales: Worlds Naughtiest Hitchhiker Parasite

Barnacles On Whales: Worlds Naughtiest Hitchhiker Parasite

Barnacles are fouling organism that attaches to almost everything (on whale, turtles, etc) and spends its life hitchhiking on the living organism like a parasite. Barnacles on whale

Barnacles are crustaceans that broadly falls in the group with crabs and lobsters.
There are around 1200 different species of Barnacles around the world.
It can attach to almost anything and often spend the whole life (around 20 years) attached to a single object be it living or non-living.
It is usually small in the size of 0.4 to 2.7 inches in diameter and can be colorful such as pink, yellow, orange, green, brown or covered with stripes.
They are a parasite and has the longest penis relative to body size
Some barnacles such as Japanese goose barnacles are a delicacy in Japan, Spain, and Portugal.
They are persistent biofouling culprit and cause multi-million dollar damage every year.

These pics will show you how dominant they are and what damages they bring to the aquatic world.