Growth and Maturity of the Barnacles Lepas hillii and Lepas anatifera

Abstract

INFORMATION on the rate of growth of all species of Lepas is scanty. Stanley Kemp, in a letter to J. F. Anton¹, quotes three sources, the first of which, referring to an unspecified Lepas, gives an increase in capitulum length of about 1 mm. a day; the second and third, referring to L. anserifera, give increases of 8 mm. in 8 days, 21 mm. in 40 days and 25 mm. in 107 days. In all cases these are minimum rates since they refer to ships and to a buoy known to be free of barnacles at one date and supporting barnacles of quoted size at another, the moment of settling being unknown.