Feeding barnacles and some vent shrimp seen at Kawio Barat

Feeding barnacles and some vent shrimp seen at Kawio Barat. The tentacles, or cirri, of the barnacles, extend like blooming flowers, then fold back into the shell. The white fluff on the cirri are filaments of bacteria that grow in the passing vent water. The barnacles hold them out to promote growth, and then, apparently, retract the cirri to “lick their fingers.”

Photo Date: 2010 June 30