Barnacle Bill

Whilst on our shellfish forage this afternoon I encountered this odd character. He introduced himself as Professor William Barnacle, although it was a little difficult to make out what he said since his mouth was sunk into the sand. He explained that he's been studying barnacles for longer than Charles Darwin himself (and he devoted 8 years to unravelling their mysteries).

Prof. Bill is a bit of a crusty: his years on the sea shore have left his face studded with marine organisms, his once-abundant hair has turned to seaweed, his eyes are mussel blue, his nose resembles a limpet and a crab provides his moustache. But no matter, he says, the Cirripedia are fascinating animals that repay close attention.

Charles Darwin on his return from the Beagle voyage, full of curious observations and discoveries, was not ready to put his ground-breaking ideas about natural selection into the public arena. Instead he focused upon a tiny creature he noticed upon a conch shell he had picked up off the coast of Chile. Thus began his eight year study of barnacles, marine invertebrates that hitherto had been classed as molluscs. Darwin revealed them to be crustaceans (like shrimps and lobsters) whose larvae are free-swimming before they attach themselves to rocks or ships for their adult life. There are over 1000 species of barnacle including one that has no shell at all. He found that some were hermaphrodites and others were seen to have tiny specks which were 'complimental males' reduced to mere tubes filled with sperm living parasitically on the females. Another kind had an elongated penis which 'when fully extended must equal between eight and nine times the entire length of the animal.'

Darwin's years with the barnacle, which paved the way towards his theory of evolution, are described here; the encrusted Professor Barnacle however has by now disappeared under the rising tide to continue his embedded studies and somehow I feel he is so welded to his subjects, or they to him, that he will be content to continue in that vein for all eternity.

This is Fishguard old harbour at low tide. If you look carefully you might see Guinea Pig Zero in the background. His blip today is also on a nautical theme inspired by our expedition.