Chelonibia

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title: "Chelonibia" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["barnacles", "extant-miocene-first-appearances"] description: "Genus of barnacles" topic_path: "general/barnacles" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chelonibia" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Genus of barnacles ::

| fossil_range = | image = Chelonibia patula on Blue crab.jpg | image_caption = Chelonibia patula on the blue crab Callinectes sapidus | taxon = Chelonibia | grandparent_authority = Pilsbry, 1916 | authority = Leach, 1817 | display_parents = 4

Chelonibia is a genus of acorn barnacles in the family Chelonibiidae of the subphylum Crustacea. Its members are epizootic and live attached to manatees, turtles, marine molluscs, crabs and horseshoe crabs in all tropical and subtropical oceans. In a few instances, they have been found on sea snakes, alligators and inanimate substrates, but they are not found in the typical habitats of barnacles – on rocks, docks or boats.

Phylogeny

They appear to be the sister group to the Balanidae.

Fossils

The fossil record of Chelonibia ranges back to the Miocene.

Species

The genus contains four extant species:

• Chelonibia caretta (Spengler, 1790)
• Chelonibia manati Gruvel, 1903
• Chelonibia patula (Ranzani, 1818)
• Chelonibia testudinaria (Linnaeus, 1758) Recent molecular genetic work suggests that three of the species, Chelonibia manati, C. patula and C. testudinaria, are all the same species. Depending on the host species, they develop plastically very distinct morphology but cannot be distinguished on the genetic level.

Three species are only known from the fossil record:

• Chelonibia capellini de Alessandri, 1895
• Chelonibia depressa Seguenza, 1876
• Chelonibia hemisphaerica Rothpletz & Simonelli, 1890

References

References

1. Newman, William A.. (March 31, 1976). "Revision of the balanomorph barnacles including a catalog of the species". San Diego Society of Natural History Memoirs.
2. Badrudeen, M.. (2000). "On the occurrence of the cirriped barnacle, ''Chelonibia patula'' (Ranzani) on the sea snake, ''Hydrophis cyanocintus'' (Daudin)". Marine Fisheries Information Service, Technical and Extension Series.
3. Nifong, James. (2012). "First record of the American alligator (''Alligator mississippiensis'') as a host to the sea turtle barnacle (''Chelonibia testudinaria'')". [[The Southeastern Naturalist]].
4. Frazier, J. G.. (1990). "The occurrence of the barnacle, ''Chelonibia patula'' (Ranzani, 1818), on an inanimate substratum (Cirripedia, Thoracica)". [[Crustaceana]].
5. Perez-Losada, M.. (2008). "The tempo and mode of barnacle evolution". [[Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution]].
6. Harzhauser, M.. (2011). "A new Early Miocene barnacle lineage and the roots of sea-turtle fouling Chelonibiidae (Cirripedia, Balanomorpha)". [[Journal of Systematic Palaeontology]].
7. Ryota Hayashi. (2012). "A checklist of turtle and whale barnacles (Cirripedia: Thoracica: Coronuloidea)". [[Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom]].
8. Benny K. K. Chan. (2012). "''Chelonibia'' Leach, 1817".
9. Cheang C. (2013). "Host-Specific Phenotypic Plasticity of the Turtle Barnacle Chelonibia testudinaria: A Widespread Generalist Rather than a Specialist". [[PLoS ONE]].

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