The barnacles are a type of goose-neck barnacle that grow on a stalk. The white fluff on the cirri is filaments of bacteria that grow in the passing vent water. The barnacles hold them out to improve growth then, apparently, withdraw to “lick their fingers”.
Barancles
Image courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, INDEX-SATAL 2010. Download larger version (jpg, 1.6 MB).
The barnacles are a type of goose-neck barnacle that grow on a stalk. The white fluff on the cirri is filaments of bacteria that grow in the passing vent water. The barnacles hold them out to improve growth then, apparently, withdraw to “lick their fingers”.
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