Cirripedes—more familiarly known, perhaps, by the common names of goose, acorn, and wart barnacles—form a subclass of the Crustacea. They undergo a considerable metamorphosis: on hatching from the egg many begin life as minute, free-swimming larvae and at this stage the individual is known as a “nauplius.” Later, after several moults, a bivalved shell is developed which covers the body and limbs, and from its resemblance to certain ostracods the term “cypris-stage” has been applied. Finally, giving up its pelagic existence, the larva settles onto some convenient object, fixes itself head foremost by cement secreted from glands at the base of the 1st antennae, and eventually assumes the adult stage. The majority of species are hermaphrodite. Some have small complementary males, but in other cases the sexes are distinct, the females being accompanied by dwarf males.
Although Darwin (1851a)described the present day as the Age of Barnacles, Cirripedia have had a considerable geological...
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References
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(1979). Cirripedia . In: Paleontology. Encyclopedia of Earth Science. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-31078-9_34
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