# Capitulum mitella

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***Capitulum*** is a [monotypic](/source/Monotypic) [genus](/source/Genus) of [sessile](/source/Sessility_(zoology)) marine [stalked barnacles](/source/Goose_barnacle). ***Capitulum mitella*** is the only [species](/source/Species) in the genus. It is commonly known as the **Japanese goose barnacle** or ***kamenote*** and is found on rocky shores in the [Indo-Pacific](/source/Indo-Pacific) region.

## Description

*Capitulum mitella* has a short leathery stalk or [peduncle](/source/Peduncle_(anatomy)) supporting an upper region or capitulum, the whole being up to 5 cm (2 in) long. The peduncle is muscular and contractile and its surface is covered with fine scales. The capitulum is protected by eight large, sheathing scales and a ring of about twenty tiny scales surround the joint of capitulum and peduncle. Inside these scales is a cavity containing the head and thorax of the animal and its appendages.[2]

## Distribution and habitat

*Capitulum mitella* occurs in the [South China Sea](/source/South_China_Sea) and the [East China Sea](/source/East_China_Sea).[3] It is found attached to rocks in the lower part of the [intertidal zone](/source/Intertidal_zone) in areas with strong currents. It typically occurs crowded with others in cracks and grooves on otherwise smooth rocky surfaces. The barnacle *[Tetraclita squamosa](/source/Tetraclita_squamosa)* often occurs in the same locations and grows alongside it, and the primitive barnacle *[Ibla cumingi](/source/Ibla_cumingi)* may grow in between or on the larger capitulum plates.[2]

## Biology

When under water, *Capitulum mitella* extends its five hind pairs of [thoracic legs](/source/Arthropod_leg) and spreads them out in the current like a net. It uses the front pair of legs to manipulate the objects it catches and move them into its mouth. Its diet mainly consists of [zooplankton](/source/Zooplankton).[2]

*Capitulum mitella* is a simultaneous [hermaphrodite](/source/Hermaphrodite). Each barnacle is capable of fertilising other nearby individuals by transmitting sperm through a long, fine tube and also of brooding its own eggs in its mantle cavity. When the eggs hatch, the larvae are released into the sea. They have six [naupliar](/source/Crustacean_larvae) stages during which food reserves are built up and one non-feeding cyprid stage which seeks out a suitable hard surface on which to settle. It then fix itself in place, undergoes [metamorphosis](/source/Metamorphosis) and becomes a sessile juvenile.[4]

In [Hong Kong](/source/Hong_Kong) harbour, where this barnacle can be found growing on [pilings](/source/Piling), it often has a [nemertean worm](/source/Nemertea) *(Nemertopsis quadripunctatus)* living inside its mantle cavity and feeding on the eggs being brooded there.[2] The worm can be 8 cm (3 in) long but only 1 mm (0.04 in) in diameter.[2]

## Uses

*Capitulum mitella* is one of about a dozen species of goose barnacle that are gathered commercially and eaten by humans. These barnacles are a luxury food item in Japan, Taiwan, Korea and China.[2][5]

## References

1. Chan, Benny K. K (2012). "*Capitulum mitella* (Linnaeus, 1758)". 535088. Retrieved 2012-12-21.

1. Rainbow, Phil. ["*Capitulum mitella*"](http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/species-of-the-day/evolution/capitulum-mitella/). The Natural History Museum. Retrieved 2012-12-21.

1. Ren Xianqiu (2006). ["*Capitulum mitella*"](http://data.sp2000.cn/2010_cnnode_e/show_species_details.php?name_code=9d1d7f52-1cec-44de-ba80-2ad4ef1d65ae). *Animal Information Management System*. Catalogue of Life. Retrieved 2012-12-21.[dead link]

1. Chu Lee; Jeong Min Shim; Chang Hyun Kim (2000). ["Larval development of *Capitulum mitella* (Cirripedia: Pedunculata) reared in the laboratory"](http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=20981). *Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the UK*. **80** (3): 457–464. [doi:10.1017/s0025315400002150](https://doi.org/10.1017/s0025315400002150). [S2CID 86504370](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:86504370)

1. Suma, Y; Ishizaki, S; Nagashima, Y; Lu, Y; Ushio, H; Shiomi, K. (2007). "Comparative analysis of barnacle tropomyosin: divergence from decapod tropomyosins and role as a potential allergen". *Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology*. **147** (2): 230–236. [doi:10.1016/j.cbpb.2007.01.004](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpb.2007.01.004). [PMID 17321773](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17321773)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Capitulum mitella](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitulum_mitella) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitulum_mitella?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.