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Amphibalanus eburneus Gould, 1841
Ivory Barnacle
Florida native
These barnacles are range through the coastal areas all around Florida extending around the Gulf coast into Mexico and the Atlantic coast to Nova Scotia. Found in scattered locations worldwide having been distributed attached to ship hulls and larvae in ballast water. Ivory barnacles are found on any hard surface such as red mangrove roots, rocks, mollusc shells, and man made structures from the low tide zone to a depth of 37m (121 ft.).
Amphibalanus eburneus is sessile with white plates fused into a cone shape about 2.5cm (1 in.) tall. There is a diamond-shaped operculum protected by two triangular hinged plates.
Other similar barnacles include the smaller white bay barnacle (Amphibalanus improvisus) which grows to only 6mm (~1/4 in.) tall and the striped barnacle (Amphibalanus amphitrite) which is marked with pink vertical lines.
Amphibalanus eburneus is a member of the Balanidae - Acorn Barnacles family.
Other species of the Amphibalanus genus in the Wild Florida Photo database:
Amphibalanus amphitrite - STRIPED BARNACLE
Amphibalanus improvisus - BAY BARNACLE
iNaturalist profile for this species
Date record last modified: Feb 05, 2023
