Barnacles track whale migration

Chemical composition of hitchhikers’ shells might reveal ancient baleen travel routes

Baleen whale

BARNACLE BIOGRAPHY  The barnacles that latch on to baleen whales, such as this humpback, may offer a record of their hosts’ movements, even millions of years later, new research suggests.

 

Gregory "Slobirdr" Smith/Flickr (CC BY-SA 2.0)

DENVER — Barnacles can tell a whale of a tale.