Occurrence in the English Channel of a Warm-Water Cirripede, Solidobalanus Fallax

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Abstract
A species of balanomorph barnacle with solid plates and basis, Solidobalanus fallax, is recorded for the first time in the English Channel off Plymouth, at 44–56 m depth. It occurs exclusively on the valves of the queen scallop, Aequipecten opercularis. Only one out of 15 scallops carries the barnacle. Morphological details of the species are re-described in comparison with Balanus crenatus and B. spongicola, with which it co-occurs. Solidobalanus fallax ranges from Angola through West Africa and Morocco to Algeria but has not been reported previously from Europe. Some specimens were incubating embryos in late May, indicating a potential for local recruitment. Solidobalanus fallax is unlikely to be a recent immigrant but its abundance may have increased as a result of changing climate.