About Chthamalus fragilis Darwin, 1854
Chthamalus fragilis (Darwin, 1854), commonly called the little grey barnacle, is a small gray barnacle. It inhabits the upper intertidal zone of the northwestern Atlantic Ocean, with a current range extending from roughly Cape Cod southward to Florida, and into the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico. Before the late 1800s, this species is thought to have only ranged as far north as North Carolina or Virginia, when individuals were first observed along the Massachusetts coast. Its range expansion into New England may have occurred naturally, or the species may have been introduced to the region through human activities. It is considered unusual among barnacles because it often settles and grows on the stems of Spartina alterniflora.
