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Crustaceans of Zihuatanejo

SUBPHYLUM CRUSTACEA

-Animals (Kingdom Animalia)

-Arthropods (Phylum Arthropoda)

-Crustaceans (Subphylum Crustacea)

-Typical Crustaceans (Superclass Multicrustacea)

-Barnacles and Copepods (Class Hexanauplia)

-Barnacles and Allies (Subclass Thecostraca)

-Barnacles (Infraclass Cirripedia)

-Normal Barnacles (Subterclass Thoracica)

-Thoracican Barnacles (Superorder Thoracicalcarea)

-Symmetrical Sessile Barnacles (Order Balanomorpha)

-Superfamily Balanoidea

-Family Balanidae

-Genus Megabalanus


The genus Megabalanus belongs to the family Balanidae and consists of large, robust barnacles commonly found in tropical and subtropical marine environments. These barnacles are known for their brightly colored shells, fast growth, and ability to attach to rocks, ships, docks, and marine animals. They are filter feeders.

Megabalanus Barnacles

Megabalanus (Genus)

Diet

  • Filter feeders that consume plankton, microscopic algae (phytoplankton), zooplankton, bacteria, and suspended organic particles.

  • Feed by extending six pairs of feather-like appendages called cirri, which sweep through the water to capture food.

  • Feeding activity increases during high tide and in areas with strong wave action or currents.

Range

  • Species of Megabalanus occur in tropical and subtropical oceans worldwide.

  • Along the eastern Pacific, they are found from the Gulf of California and the Pacific coast of Mexico south through Central America to Peru.

  • Several species occur along the Pacific coast of Guerrero, including the Zihuatanejo region, where they are common on exposed rocky shores, reefs, piers, and jetties.

Habitat

  • Inhabit rocky intertidal shores, reefs, seawalls, pilings, docks, mangrove roots, and the hulls of ships.

  • Permanently cement themselves to hard surfaces using an exceptionally strong natural adhesive.

  • Most common from the mid-intertidal zone to shallow subtidal waters where wave action continually supplies food-rich water.

Size

  • Shell diameter: 3–8 cm (1.2–3.1 in), depending on the species.

  • Height: Up to 8 cm (3.1 in).

  • Weight: Typically 20–200 g.

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