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Functional morphology of Lithotrya dorsalis (Cirripedia: Thoracica) in relation to its burrowing habit

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Abstract

Burrowing mechanisms of the scalpellid barnacle Lithotrya dorsalis collected from Indian Key, Florida, USA and Fort Point, Jamaica, West Indies, in the fall and spring of 1983 and 1984 were investigated. Calcite spicules covering the peduncule of this animal mechanically abrade carbonate substratum and are described by light and scanning electron microscopy. These spicules undergo a morphological transformation during the molt cycle. Initial observations on the burrowing habit of L. dorsalis indicate that it also employs a chemical agent during bioerosion. Characteristic etching patterns on both optically pure calcite (Iceland spar) and shell material lend further support to this contention. Possible sources of this chemical agent are discussed.

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Author notes

  1. J. F. Dineen Jr.

    Present address: Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, P.O. Box 28, 21037, Edgewater, Maryland, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Horn Point Environmental Laboratories, Center for Environmental and Estuarine Studies, University of Maryland, 21613, Cambridge, Maryland, USA

    J. F. Dineen Jr.

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  1. J. F. Dineen Jr.
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Communicated by J. Grassle, Woods Hole

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Dineen, J.F. Functional morphology of Lithotrya dorsalis (Cirripedia: Thoracica) in relation to its burrowing habit. Marine Biology 98, 543–555 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00391546

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