Description ⁴

The titan acorn barnacle Megabalanmus coccopoma, is not native to the Atlantic but now occurs along the U.S. Atlantic coast and in the Gulf of Mexico. It is a very large balanid (acorn barnacle family), pink in color and growing to over 5 cm in height and width (Kerckhof 2002, Jaxshells).

Distribution ⁵

This species originates from the tropical eastern Pacific coasts of Central and South America.

Size ⁶

Megabalanus coccopoma grows to around 5 cm in height and width. Tibbetts (2007) reports that non-native M. coccopoma from South Carolina attain a body mass 100 times greater than that of native barnacle species.

Look alikes ⁷

A number of non-native balanid barnacles occur in Florida and have introduced ranges that potentially overlap that of Megabalanmus coccopoma. The Mediterranean barnacle Megabalanus antillensis (= Balanus tintinnabulum) and the Pacific barnacle Balanus trigonus are two such species that are similar in color to M. coccopoma. Balanus trigonus is distinguishable by size, only growing to around 8 mm, while differentiating between Megabalanus species may require taxonomic expertise beyond that of most amateur naturalists.

Reproduction ⁸

Details on reproduction in Megabalanus coccopoma remain unpublished. Reproduction in nearly all barnacles employs outcrossing of neighboring adult individuals as the norm, with individual animals occurring as simultaneous hermaphrodites. Fertilization is internal, occurring through the deposit of sperm into the mantle cavities of adjacent animals via an elongated intromittent tube.

Link to Access Genomic Data ⁹

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Taxonomy/Browser/wwwtax.cgi?id=864464&lvl=0

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Jose Nunez, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), uploaded by Jose Nunez
2. U.S. Geological Survey Archive, U.S. Geological Survey, Bugwood.org, no known copyright restrictions (public domain), https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/5431175-PPT.jpg
3. (c) Emily Rose Sharkey, all rights reserved, uploaded by Emily Rose Sharkey
4. (c) Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/11526396
5. (c) WoRMS for SMEBD, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://eol.org/data_objects/29749767
6. (c) Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/11526402
7. Adapted by matbio from a work by (c) Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/11526399
8. Adapted by matbio from a work by (c) Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/11526401
9. (c) Emily Rose Sharkey, all rights reserved

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Animal Diversity Web
• Atlas of Living Australia
• Beach Barnacles of New Zealand
• Beach Barnacles Of New Zealand
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• BugGuide
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• NatureServe Explorer 2.0
• SeaLifeBase
• World Register of Marine Species
• 日本のレッドデータ検索システム

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