Why do so many barnacles end up hitching a ride on whales? Speaking to IFLScience, Professor Geoffrey Boxshall , an expert on tiny crustaceans at the Natural History Museum London and Fellow of the Royal Society, explained several intriguing reasons behind the unlikely alliance between marine mammals and small, shelled sea beasts. The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.

Firstly, it might have something to do with the behavior of the whales. Boxshall explained it: “Cruising around the well-lit and productive surface waters of the oceans where small plankton, the food of the barnacles, is abundant.”

Secondly, he added, “the large size of the whales provides plenty of surface area for attachment.”

Lastly, the social habits of

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