Barnacles (Cirripedia, Balanomorpha) in Belgian waters, an overview of the species and recent evolutions, with emphasis on exotic species
Kerckhof, F. (2002). Barnacles (Cirripedia, Balanomorpha) in Belgian waters, an overview of the species and recent evolutions, with emphasis on exotic species. Bull. Kon. Belg. Inst. Natuurwet. Biologie 72(Suppl.): 93-104
In: Bulletin van het Koninklijk Belgisch Instituut voor Natuurwetenschappen. Biologie = Bulletin de l'Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique. Biologie. Koninklijk Belgisch Instituut voor Natuurwetenschappen: Bruxelles. ISSN 0374-6429
Also appears in:
Peeters, M.; Van Goethem, J.L. (Ed.) (2002). Belgian Fauna and Alien Species: Verhandelingen van het Symposium Status en Trends van de Belgische Fauna met bijzondere aandacht voor uitheemse soorten = Belgian Fauna and Alien Species: Proceedings of the Symposium Status and Trends of the Belgian Fauna with a particular emphasis on alien species. Bulletin van het Koninklijk Belgisch Instituut voor Natuurwetenschappen. Biologie = Bulletin de l'Institut Royal des Sciences Naturelles de Belgique. Biologie, 72(Suppl.). Koninklijk Belgisch Instituut voor Natuurwetenschappen: Brussel. 297 pp., more
In the present article an overview is given of all the recent Cirripedia Balanomorpha mentioned for Belgian waters with an appraisal of their present status and possible new evolutions. Historical data are reviewed, and completed with data from recent research and additional fieldwork. A recent and remarkable increase of the number of species belonging to the Belgian fauna was noted. The causes for this augmentation are discussed. Although some other species were mentioned, it appears that only 3 species were common in Belgium until World War II: Semibalanus balanoides, Balanus crenatus and B. improvisus. The former 2 are boreo-arctic species and can be considered as indigenous to the region. The latter is probably an early immigrant into European waters. During World War II, the New Zealand barnacle Elminius modestus reached Europe as fouling on ships of the Allied Powers. Nowadays, this species is the most common barnacle in Belgian waters. In 1996, B.amphitrite was discovered at several places along the Belgian coast.This cosmopolitan warm water species is now common in suitable habitats. During a recent study from buoys off the Belgian coast, 6 additional species were found: B. reticulatus, B. variegatus, B. trigonus, Megabalanus coccopoma and M. tintinnabulum, which are mainly cosmopolitan species living in tropical or warm temperate waters, and B. perforatus, a Lusitanean species apparently spreading to the south. For the time being these species are still rare and their occurrence is restricted to the specific habitat of the offshore buoys.
All data in the Integrated Marine Information System (IMIS) is subject to the VLIZ privacy policy
