APHOTOMARINE

An educational resource dedicated mainly to the photography
and diversity of marine life that can be found in coastal waters
and intertidal areas of Great Britain and Ireland by David Fenwick.

A-P-H-O-T-O Wildlife Stock Image Library
Acasta spongites (Poli, 1791) - Sponge barnacle (Barnacle Images)
Scroll down and rollover titles to change screen image or click on title to view image.
Sponge barnacle
Acasta spongites
- lateral view barnacle 1

Sponge barnacle
Acasta spongites
- perforated basis - ventral 1

Sponge barnacle
Acasta spongites
- perforated basis - dorsal 1

Sponge barnacle
Acasta spongites
- perforated basis - lateral 1

Sponge barnacle
Acasta spongites
- lateral view barnacle 2

Sponge barnacle
Acasta spongites
- exposed barnacles 1

Sponge barnacle
Acasta spongites
- barnacle feeding 1

Sponge barnacle
Acasta spongites
- barnacle feeding 2

Specimens above found growing in the sponge Dysidea fragilis at the foot of a north facing overhang on the lowershore at Gyllyngvase Beach, Falmouth, Cornwall, 17.12.16.

Sponge barnacle
Acasta spongites
- spines viewed from basis 1

Sponge barnacle
Acasta spongites
- spines viewed from basis 2

The specimen above was in a small sample of crevice fauna collected from Hannafore Point, Looe, Cornwall, 04.02.22.

Sponge barnacle
Acasta spongites
- lateral view 1

Sponge barnacle
Acasta spongites
- hooked plates 1

Sponge barnacle
Acasta spongites
- barnacle base 1

Sponge barnacle
Acasta spongites
- within Dysidea fragilis 1

Sponge barnacle
Acasta spongites
- within Dysidea fragilis 2

Sponge barnacle
Acasta spongites
- within Dysidea fragilis 3

Sponge barnacle
Acasta spongites
- the sponge Dysidea fragilis 1

Barnacles typically found under a rock with the sponge Dysidea fragilis. Images taken on the lowershore in front of Albert Pier, Penzance, Cornwall. 10.02.13.

Barnacle plates may have hooks, if not present they may have worn off. The cup-shaped perforated basis (base) is typical for this species. Acasta spongites is probably quite common in Dysidea fragilis around the south-west, but it is greatly under-recorded because it is hardly visible and Dysidea fragilis is usually only found on the lowest tides.

This species is reported as Acasta spongites (Poli, 1795) in the Synopses of the British Fauna (New Series) No.57 Barnacles by A. J. Southward. This is an error, the original description was published in 1791 by Poli J.X. in Testacea utriusque Siciliae eorumque historia et anatome tabulis aeneis illustrata. Ex Regio Typographeio, Parmae. Vol. 1: pp. i-lxxiii, [1-6], i-x, 1-90, 1-50, [1], 1-74, pls 1-18.. Ref: WoRMS.

Acasta spongites Sponge Barnacle Dysidea fragilis Images
The main objective of this website is in furthering environmental awareness and education through the medium of photography. To increase awareness and access to the wildlife of the region and help
people find and identify it. Sometimes the difference between species is obvious but many species can only be determined by observing microscopic characteristics that are specific to any one species.