Platylepas hexastylos

Some species of barnacle settle on either a solid substrate or on a living host, but others are obligate commensals, and this latter group includes P. hexastylos. In a study of stranded turtles on the coast of southern Brazil, P. hexastylos and Chelonibia testudinaria were the barnacles most often encountered. Some turtles had as many as three species of barnacle, and P. hexastylos was often associated with the bay barnacle (Balanus improvisus). In general the barnacles were encrusted on the marginal scutes or the rear of the turtle, but P. hexastylos encrusted securely on soft tissues causing deep wounds. Up to eight P. hexastylos were found on individual turtles.[4]