Hitchhikers on Ocean Plastics Some sea creatures use floating plastic, or other waste, to travel around the world. Here are some that we have found on UK shores. If you look closely you may see some of these too. Let us know what you find on Twitter via @CardiffCurator. Find more nature guides or get in touch with our museum scientists for help with identification: museum.wales/collections/on-your-doorstep 006a
Only found on floating objects, Darwin’s Barnacle with no permanent home on Austrominius modestus Goose Barnacles shore, this small crab may have Isopod Lepas anatifera Keelworms been the species reported by This barnacle, first described Christopher Columbus from Idotea metallica Spirobranchus spp. by Charles Darwin in 1854, is Often found attached in large floating weed in the Sargasso native to Australasia. It was Isopods are a group of small numbers to floating Common attached to any Sea (northwest Atlantic Ocean). introduced to British shores crustaceans that includes objects, such as this hard hat hard surface, these worms can Our museum specimen was in the 1940s, probably through woodlice. This permanent that washed up on a Welsh easily settle on floating debris discovered amongst goose attachment to ships’ hulls and wanderer has no native home beach. People once thought that can then transport them barnacles on a hard hat that is now common here. It easily but instead travels the world on that barnacle geese developed around the world. There are 2 washed up on Ogmore beach! spreads around the world by floating objects such as plastics from these which is where the native UK species but an attaching to floating objects. name came from. American species was found These crabs are small, no or algae and occasionally finds attached to storm debris on more than 1–2cm wide across its way to British shores. The hard, outer body has only Distinguished from other goose the Cornish coast in 2016. the body, variable in colour, 4 plates (compared to 6 in Up to 3cm long, grey or brown barnacles by the five, large, with eyes spaced well apart; most other UK barnacles) and when alive; complete, curved line white, smooth and rounded Hard, white curvy tube, 2– smooth outer shell (carapace) a central region with four across upper body behind the plates on the ‘head’ with only a 3cm long although the worm with 1–2 tooth-like spines on plates that can open up to large, obvious eyes (black when narrow gap between them. itself is much smaller, with a the margin. allow the animal to feed. Up alive); almost blunt, straight-sided Shelled part (capitulum) can distinctive ridge (keel) that to 1cm in diameter. shape to the rear end. reach 5–7cm in length. runs down the centre.