Perforatus perforatus is a species of barnacle in the family Balanidae. It is found on the lower shore and in the neritic zone in the warm temperate parts of the eastern Atlantic Ocean.[
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Description
Perforatus perforatus is a large barnacle which grows up to in both diameter and height. Its shape resembles a volcano with steep sloping sides. The six fused lateral calcareous plates are pale purplish-brown and often ridged vertically. They often separate near the top leaving jagged ridges. Tissue inside the operculum is brightly coloured. Two pairs of moveable plates cover the operculum which can be sealed by a purplish-brown flap when the barnacle is exposed above water or it is not feeding.[ European Marine Life. Retrieved July 19, 2011.][ Marine Life Information Network. Retrieved July 19, 2011.]
Distribution
Perforatus perforatus is found on coastlines along the eastern side of the Atlantic Ocean including the Mediterranean Sea and the English Channel. Its most northerly extent is in southern areas of England and Wales,[ and at this limit of its range it can be greatly affected by severe winters. It has been expanding its range with the rises in temperature that have been occurring in recent decades.][
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Biology
When submerged, P. perforatus extends its cirri and beats then rhythmically at a rate of between two and twenty-four beats per ten seconds. The cirri are less extended when the beat rate is faster. It feeds on plankton and as well as catching food particles, it pumps water through its mantle cavity. The faster the beating, the more water is pumped and the volume may reach one litre per hour. Slow beat rates are linked to pauses while the cirri are retracted rather than a reduction in the speed of movement of the cirri. P. perforatus is well adapted to life as an efficient current-producing Filter feeder.
Breeding takes place between May and September in the English Channel when the quantity of planktonic food for the larvae is at its greatest.
Ecology
In the habitats occupied by P. perforatus it is often associated with and Coralline algae on shady overhanging rocks and cave entrances and also and Ascidiacea in deeper shade.[ European Environment Agency: Habitat types for Balanus perforatus]
The Isopoda crustacean Crinoniscidae is an Parasitism of P. perforatus. Another isopod crustacean, Naesa bidentata, normally lives in rock crevices and under seaweed and stones but with the spread of P. perforatus, it has adopted the empty shells of the barnacle as its home.
