Striped Goose Barnacle, Conchoderma virgatum

Striped Goose Barnacle, Conchoderma virgatum.  Length: 3.3 cm (1.3 inches).

 The Striped Goose Barnacle, Conchoderma virgatum (Spengler, 1790), is a member of the Lepadidae Family of Goose Barnacles that is also known as the Epizoitic Barnacle. They consist of a shell-like structure (capitulum) that is made up of five plates and has a quadrangular profile and a stalk (peduncle) that attaches the animal to a hard surface. The capitulum is whitish to light ray, with dark purple-brown longitudinal stripes. In live animals the capitulum is often covered by a translucent membrane. The peduncle is leathery in texture and flattened. It is gray in color but when dead they quickly turn black. The capitulum reaches a maximum length of 3.5 cm (1.3 inches). When fully extended, the stalk may reach 3.5 cm (1.3 inches) in length, but it is usually contracted.

Striped Goose Barnacles are found in the open ocean, attached to buoys, cables, swimming crabs, flotsam, ship hulls, snakes, turtles and whales and even large fish such as the Ocean Sunfish, Mola mola. They are often found found near the surface; they have, however, been found to depths of 490 feet. They feed on hydrozoans and other plankton. The Striped Goose Barnacles are found in tropical and temperate seas globally. They are found along the entire Pacific Coast of Mexico including the southern portions of the Sea of Cortez, from La Paz to the Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur.

Synonyms include Conchoderma hunteri, Conchoderma virgata, and Lepas virgate.