Other Names
- Southern Goose Barnacle
General Description
A stalked barnacle with five side plates. Plates smooth and white with faint orange-brown outline. Stalk purple-brown and shorter than length of plates. Plates up to 4 cm long and 25 mm wide, stalk up to 3 cm long.
Biology
These barnacles attach to floating objects such as drift wood. Colonies of multiple barnacles can wash ashore, still attached to their floating home. The stranded colony may survive a short time on the beach and the cirri can be seen moving but it will not live long in this environment.
Habitat
Temperate waters, attached to floating objects.
Open water
Coastal shores
Distribution guide
New Zealand and southern Australia.
Species Group
Depth
Water Column
Max Size
7 cm
Diet
Plankton or Particles
Commercial Species
No
Global Dispersal
Recorded in Australia
Identify
Conservation Status
- DSE Advisory List : Not listed
- EPBC Act 1999 : Not listed
- IUCN Red List : Not listed
Author
Dr. Jo Taylor is the Sciences Collections Online Coordinator at Museum Victoria.
Author
Blair Patullo is Online Producer for marine projects at Museum Victoria.
Cite this page as:
Taylor, J. & Patullo, B., 2011, Goose Barnacle, Lepas australis, in Taxonomic Toolkit for marine life of Port Phillip Bay, Museum Victoria, accessed 25 Feb 2025, http://136.154.202.208:8098/species/10205
