Barnacle

ocean · crustacean · sticky

Relatives of crabs. Barnacles are arthropods closely related to crabs and lobsters, which means they're part of the same animal family even though they look totally different.

Glued for life. Barnacles use a super strong natural cement to stick themselves to rocks, boat hulls, and other surfaces as babies, and they never move again after that.

Ocean homebodies. All barnacles live in salt water, and many make their homes in shallow coastal areas and tide pools where waves crash and water levels change twice a day.

Built-in shelter. Each barnacle grows a hard shell made of plates that it can close up like a tiny fortress to protect itself from drying out and predators.

Thousands of species. Scientists have found and named about 2,100 different kinds of barnacles living in oceans all around the world.