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Barnacle cyprid (or cypris) larva

Location: North Inlet, SC (marsh creek)

Collected using a 153 μm plankton net suspended from a dock during a moving tide.

Date: June 2005

Notes: The cypris larva is a non-feeding stage that follows the nauplius stage. The oil droplets seen inside are used for nutrition. The primary function of this stage seems to be to find a spot to settle where the adult can prosper.

The fine appendages at the lower left test both the physical and chemical attributes of prospective landing sites. The eyespot senses light levels and is presumed responsible for the photopositive response seen in cyprids of intertidal species. This insures that settlement is in the intertidal zone. Barnacle cyprids are extremely difficult to identify to species visually.

Collected by: W. S. Johnson
Goucher College
Submitted by: W. S. Johnson
Goucher College


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