By Nicole Webster
I have below what we believe to be the first footage of someone hand feeding a Pollicipes polymerus. These gooseneck barnacles are found only in high flow areas, and feed differently than your average acorn barnacles. Rather than swat the water for prey with their legs, they let the water to the work for them, holding out their legs, and let the tide wash in their food. They eat larger pieces (as you can see below), and here appear to actually grab it.
These videos were taken by my lab mate Tomonari Kaji, a postdoc who’s looking at the development and plasticity of barnacle leg segments, and how they change leg length in different environments.
The Madreporite 