Vulcanolepas osheai
Vulcanolepas osheai, commonly referred to as O'Shea's vent barnacle, is a stalked barnacle of the family Neolepadidae. This species is endemic to New Zealand. HabitatThis species is a deep-sea stalked barnacle, found in the Brother's Caldera in the Havre Trough, near the North Island of New Zealand (approximately 700 kilometers off the coast of the Bay of Plenty).[2] The barnacle is found at depths of 1290 to 1500 meters in depth around hydrothermal vents and active underwater volcanoes.[2] DescriptionVulcanolepas osheai has a peduncle (stalk) to capitulum (shell-casing) ratio of 5:1.[2][4] The capitulum is made of approximately 8 calcareous plates, with a thin cuticle surrounding it, and is often stained black from manganiferous deposits due to the proximity to the hydrothermal vents.[2] The peduncle is composed of many rows of small scales (less than 1 millimeter), usually twice as long as wide.[2][4] In larger specimens, more than 100 rows of scales have been observed.[2] The cirral setae of Vulcanolepas osheai are associated with filamentous bacterial epibionts, of the phylum Pseudomonadota (formerly Proteobacteria), although they are not endosymbiotic bacteria.[5] Isotopic analysis have suggested these barnacles feed on sulphur-oxidizing bacteria, or other planktonic larvae that feed on sulphur-oxidizing bacteria around the vents.[5] EtymologyVulcanolepas osheai is named after Dr. Steve O'Shea, who was curator of the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research in Wellington, New Zealand.[2] References
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