Barnacle: Difference between revisions

Immediately inside the Barnacle are six legs that are used for three purposes.  These legs or cirri are usually formed in a feather like shape and have tiny sensory hairs called setae that cover the cirri.[http://invertebrates.si.edu/crustaceans.htm] These legs are used for filter feeding, are the main source of response, and they are used for respiration in class cirripedia.[http://www.waterencyclopedia.com/Ce-Cr/Crustaceans.html]  When used for feeding the legs are extended into the water by the barnacle in order to catch whatever food it can.  The legs are then retracted and whatever particles the legs have caught are brought to the mouth.  They are also used as the sensory organs of the Barnacle.  The tiny sensory hairs on the cirri detect danger and water level in order to tell the creature whether to open or close the two calcereous plates at the top.[http://invertebrates.si.edu/crustaceans.htm] [http://www.cb1.com/~john/research/barnacle.html]