The barnacle Balanus balanoides (Linné, 1766) in Spitsbergen

Living specimens of Balanus balanoides (Linne, 1766 ) were found by the author in the summers of 1948, 1950, and 1952, at various localities on the west and north coast of Vestspitsbergen and in the fjords of the same region. The northernmost locality is situated at 800 3,7' N. lat. This is the highest latitude at wich B. balanoides has been recorded up to the present. B. balanoides has been previously recorded twice in Spitsbergen, viz. by Birula in 1906 "to the south", and by Broch in 1924 from Kapp Klaveness (770 10' N. lat.) . The general distribution of this species is discussed, and a map of its total occurrence is given. Records of B. balanoides as a fossil in Arctic and Subarctic Pleistocene deposits are considered. The morphology of the Spitsbergen specimens is discussed. Some ()f them recall Darwin's variety «a". The occurrences of B. balanoides in Spitsbergen are almost exclusi­ vely associated with cracks and grooves in the substratum. The animal was found on hard rocks only. Specimens growing on a more or less sub­ vertical substratum are usually orientated with their carina upwards and their rostra down. In none of the localities investigated B. balanoides was found living below low-water mark, and in many places it did not occur above mid-tide level. B. balanoides penetrates far into the fjords of Vestspitsbergen, but it has not been observed close to the glaciers at the heads of the fjords. The limiting factor here is found to be the suspended minerogenic mud, which forms a slippery coating on the substratum in such localities. R. balanoides can at least survive one winter in Spitsbergen, probably more. In this connection the relation of R. balanoides to the ice-foot is discussed. A few remarks have been inserted about breeding and reproduction. A brief survey is given of the localities in which B. balanoides was observed, and at the end of the paper measurements of carino-rostral basal diameters and heights will be found.

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