The Goose Barnacle is a marine crustacean with a white heart-shaped shell. It can be found on the west coasts of England and is often found washed up on our shores attached to floating objects. This crustacean attaches itself onto rocks and other hard objects such as driftwood, logs and even thick ropes.

The shell of the Goose Barnacle is about four and half centimetres long and covers most of the barnacle’s body, apart from the ‘peduncle’. The peduncle is a stalk-like part of the barnacle’s body that extends out of the shell and contains some of the Goose Barnacle’s head. The peduncle is a purplish red colour and is approximately four to nine centimetres long. The Goose Barnacle uses its peduncle to attach itself onto objects. This barnacle also has feathery limb-looking organs attached to the front part of the shell. It uses these organs to catch food.

Goose Barnacles are ‘hermaphrodite’ which means they are both male and female. They carry their eggs in special cavities within their shells for about five months. When the larvae hatch out of the eggs, they swim freely in the sea and become part of zooplankton until they grow bigger and can attach themselves to objects.