Chthamalus

Chthamalus
A colony of Chthamalus stellatus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Thecostraca
Subclass: Cirripedia
Order: Balanomorpha
Family: Chthamalidae
Genus: Chthamalus
Ranzani, 1817 [1]

Chthamalus (χθαμαλός, "flat" or "on the ground"[2]) is a genus of barnacles that is found along almost all non-boreal coasts of the northern hemisphere, as well as many regions in the southern hemisphere. These small barnacles have been studied in part because of the taxonomic confusion over a group of species that, by and large, are morphologically and ecologically quite similar. In recent years, molecular techniques have identified a number of cryptic species that have been subsequently confirmed by taxonomists using morphological measurements.[3] Most recently the genus has been shown to be paraphyletic, with the genus Microeuraphia nested within Chthamalus.[4]

Field Identification[edit]

Identification of barnacles in the field can be challenging, and identification of particular species of Chthamalus is not considered reliable in the field other than a few species. However, a notable distinction in the arrangement of wall plates can help biologists distinguish Chthamalid barnacles from the other common barnacles in the family Balanidae. In chthamalid barnacles, the side plates overlap both the rostrum and the carina (the plates at the ends of the opercular opening), while in balanids one end plate (the rostrum) overlaps the adjoining side plates (rostrolaterals).

Species[edit]

The following species are included in the genus Chthamalus:[1]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Benny K. K. Chan (2021). "Chthamalus Ranzani, 1817". World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved August 22, 2021.
  2. ^ David H. McNicoll, M.D. (1863). Dictionary of Natural History Terms with their derivations. L. Reeve & Company. p. 91. etymology chthamalus.
  3. ^ John P. Wares (2020). "Small, flat, and gray: Cryptic diversity in chthamalid barnacles in the global context of marine coastal biogeography (Cirripedia: Balanomorpha: Chthamalidae)". Journal of Crustacean Biology. 40: 1–16. doi:10.1093/jcbiol/ruz086.
  4. ^ John P. Wares; M. Sabrina Pankey; Fabio Pitombo; Liza Gómez Daglio; Yair Achituv (2009). Bruno, John F. (ed.). "A "shallow phylogeny" of shallow barnacles (Chthamalus)". PLoS One. 4 (5): e5567. Bibcode:2009PLoSO...4.5567W. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0005567. PMC 2678261. PMID 19440543.