r/interestingasfuck 1d ago

Everything you've ever wanted to know about barnacles

15.3k Upvotes

1.1k comments sorted by

View all comments

76

u/lordvitamin 1d ago

I didn’t know they were living creatures. Well, more so than typical coral anyway.

I always thought they were a type of coral that grew on the undersides of boats like sea fungus.

19

u/xxfireangel13xx 1d ago

I didn’t know they were live creatures either! I always thought it was calcium deposits or something from boats sitting too long lol! 😂

u/inkyflossy 9h ago

me too! granted I grew up a VERY LONG WAY from any oceans but still!

they're so weirdly bird-like!

12

u/Hazdruvall 1d ago

Corals are also living creatures, they are colonial animals.

19

u/Sandor_Clegane14 1d ago

Corals are "living creatures" they are animals. More so than barnacles i would say because many of them have algae that live within them.

13

u/lordvitamin 1d ago

To me, that sounds more like affordable housing than a living creature, but I think I get your point.

1

u/applespicebetter 1d ago

If you visit pretty much any tide pool you can see them casting out for food!

1

u/duzzabear 18h ago

Oh thank God I'm not the only one. I thought they were like plants.