A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

Overview

Six pale calcified plates surround a diamond-shaped aperture above a membranous base. Crowding can make the shell taller.

Fixed to hard surfaces, it extends thoracic cirri while immersed to gather plankton and organic particles. Feeding and moulting respond to food and temperature.

It is a cross-fertilizing hermaphrodite. Museum records show widespread British and Irish occurrence on hard intertidal surfaces, with occasional subtidal records. Balanus balanoides is a former name for this same species.

Six grey-white calcified platesDiamond-shaped openingMembranous baseShell form altered by crowdingFilter-feeding with thoracic cirriCross-fertilizing hermaphrodite
01

Origins & earliest records

The selected sources do not establish an evolutionary origin. The authority Linnaeus, 1767 records naming, not origin. The original type material has not been examined.

02

Evidence & interpretation

MarLIN species account (description, habitat, distribution, biology); Marine Biodiversity Portal NI species account (description, habitat, similar species, classification).

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

  1. 01

    Common rock barnacle (Semibalanus balanoides)

    · 2008

    Selected bibliography; institutional species account used as a reference because no further literature is established in this packet.

  2. 02

    Semibalanus balanoides (Linnaeus, 1767)

    · n.d.

    Selected bibliography; Marine Biodiversity Portal NI species account.

Family, evolution & connections

Taxonomic classification

A hierarchy of classified groups, not a chain of direct ancestors.

Source note: The family comes from MarLIN. The authority Linnaeus, 1767 comes from the Marine Biodiversity Portal NI. Balanus balanoides is a former name, not a separate taxon.

  1. familyBalanidae

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

  1. Institutional species accountCommon rock barnacle (Semibalanus balanoides)Research access: 2026-10-07
  2. Museum species accountSemibalanus balanoides (Linnaeus, 1767)Research access: 2026-10-07

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

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