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November 9, 2020: Barnacle-Covered Crab

Seen during a Mountains in the Deep: Exploring the Central Pacific Basin expedition dive near Jarvis Island, a 4.5-square-kilometer (1.7-square-mile) uninhabited island just south of the Equator, this crab (Chaceon sp.) was covered in barnacles. This is likely an example of a commensal relationship, where an organism causes no harm to its host, but receives some benefit from living with the host. At some point, the crab will molt and lose the barnacles.

Image courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, Mountains in the Deep: Exploring the Central Pacific Basin. Download larger version (jpg, 881 KB).

Seen during a Mountains in the Deep: Exploring the Central Pacific Basin expedition dive near Jarvis Island, a 4.5-square-kilometer (1.7-square-mile) uninhabited island just south of the Equator, this crab (Chaceon sp.) was covered in barnacles. This is likely an example of a commensal relationship, where an organism causes no harm to its host, but receives some benefit from living with the host. At some point, the crab will molt and lose the barnacles.

Check out this ocean fact to learn more about symbiotic relationships in the deep ocean.