I've confirmed with my eyes that this is the ghost hand that I dare not eat (can't afford to eat)

What is the most expensive seafood you have ever eaten? King crab? Blue lobster? Bluefin tuna? (Okay, I have only heard of them, but I have never eaten any of them.)

In addition to these, there is also a kind of seafood in the world called gooseneck barnacles, which can be sold for $100 for only one pound (about 9 taels). In our country, one pound sells for about 600-700 yuan. It is truly the "aristocrat" among seafood. Poverty has indeed limited my imagination.

Image source: https://www.gbif.org/, author: Charcos Companhia

Strange shape

Gooseneck barnacle (Lepas anatifera) belongs to the Barnacle family and is a type of deep-sea barnacle. It consists of a cylindrical stalk and a head wrapped in claw-like shell plates. It is named because its shape resembles a goose neck.

In China, we generally call it dog claw snail, which is named because its appearance resembles a dog's claw. Europeans call it "seafood from hell" because its appearance resembles the devil's knuckles.

Gooseneck barnacles are mainly distributed along the northeastern Atlantic coast. They mostly grow on reefs in the intertidal high-tide zone that are beaten by waves all year round. They cluster together in groups, which are densely packed and very spectacular. It is simply a nightmare for people with trypophobia.

Image source: https://www.gbif.org/, author: Charcos Companhia

Gooseneck barnacles feed on plankton and are rich in vitamins, proteins, calcium, iodine and other trace elements. They can not only promote metabolism and blood circulation in the human body, but also restore and enhance the function of body tissues. Therefore, although they look scary, they are still sought after by many food lovers.

They are large in size and full of meat. They taste the sweetness of crab meat, the smoothness of oysters, and the texture of lobster if you taste them carefully. It is a good deal to experience the joy of three kinds of food for one cent.

Beautiful misunderstanding

"Barnacles" are taxonomically classified as Arthropoda, Crustacea, Maxillopoda, Coleoptera, Cirripedia, and Perithrax. In other words, you may think it is a mollusk, but it is actually a true crustacean.

Image source: https://www.gbif.org/, author: Octávio Mateus

Because they are born with a "protective shell" - a calcareous shell plate, they have been mistaken for shellfish for many years. As biologists conducted in-depth research on their larvae, they realized that barnacles are not shellfish, but are more closely related to various shrimps and crabs.

There are many types of barnacles, which can be roughly divided into two categories based on their morphology: "sessile" and "sessile".

The barnacle family belongs to the "sessile" type. Their soft bodies are surrounded by multiple calcareous shells and look like flowers about to bloom.

The Myogae family belongs to the "stalked" type. The calcareous shell plates of its outer shell are connected and supported by a fat and soft stalk. Relying on this "stalk", they can firmly adhere to solid surfaces such as reefs. They do not need to go out to find food, and can thrive by filtering microorganisms, algae and organic debris in seawater.

Expensive price

If you want to know why the price is so expensive, it’s because this is a delicacy that was purchased with life.

Gooseneck barnacles grow mostly on reefs that are washed by seawater all year round, where the waves are rough and the terrain is extremely dangerous. Usually, barnacles that can be sold at a good price are mostly hidden in dangerous corners, because there are longer exposure to seawater, and the nutrition supply of barnacles is more sufficient.

Such an environment is very challenging for people who pick barnacles. They need to be very careful every time they pick them. If they are not careful, they will fall from the barnacle-covered rocks into the sea, and the surging waves can swallow all living things.

Therefore, the Spanish called fishermen who specialized in catching gooseneck barnacles "barnacle hunters."

Barnacle collection screen

At the same time, due to the tides, the time for picking gooseneck barnacles is very limited. The short few hours of low tide are the best time for collectors to take risks and collect barnacles.

When picking, screwdrivers, iron rods, knives and other tools are used in turn to dig out the barnacles that are firmly attached to the reef. It has to be said that this is a job that requires both physical strength and luck.

The harsh picking environment has led to a significant increase in labor costs. In addition, the quantity picked each time is very limited and cannot meet market demand. Due to these multiple reasons, the price of gooseneck barnacles has naturally risen.

As a high-end food ingredient in European countries, gooseneck barnacles were once sold at a sky-high price of 1,200 euros per kilogram at a Spanish seafood auction, which also indirectly illustrates the rarity of gooseneck barnacles in the seafood world.

Image source: https://www.gbif.org/, author: Lucas Scholtes

With large-scale fishing, the number of gooseneck barnacles worldwide is decreasing. In order to protect the ecology, more and more countries have banned the picking of gooseneck barnacles. The sharply reduced supply has further increased the market price of gooseneck barnacles.

In addition to satisfying the appetite, barnacles also make considerable contributions to medical research. When barnacles attach themselves to objects, they produce a special jelly-like substance with very strong stickiness.

Inspired by this, MIT announced a biological glue that can quickly seal wounds in the summer of 2021. Applying it to a small wound can stop bleeding within 15 to 30 seconds, and as time goes by and the wound heals, the biological glue will slowly decompose itself. Currently, experiments on mice and pigs have been successful.

Delicious, nutritious, and with medicinal value... I can tell from my eyes that gooseneck barnacles are something I can't afford to eat~

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Tadpole Musical Notation original article, please indicate the source when reprinting

Editor/Xiao Xitushuo