 | This article may be too technical for most readers to understand. (March 2014) |
| Chthamalidae Temporal range:
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|---|---|
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| Chthamalus stellatus | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Thecostraca |
| Subclass: | Cirripedia |
| Infraclass: | Thoracica |
| Superorder: | Thoracicalcarea |
| (unranked): | Sessilia |
| Order: | Balanomorpha |
| Superfamily: | Chthamaloidea |
| Family: | Chthamalidae Darwin, 1854[1]460 |
The Chthamalidae are a family of chthamaloid barnacles, living entirely in intertidal/subtidal habitats, characterized by a primary shell wall of eight, six, or four plates, lacking imbricating plate whorls, and either membraneous or more rarely calcareous basis. They are not found below immediate subtidal habitats, and more likely are found in the highest tier of shallow-water barnacle fauna. They can be found in the most rigorous wave-washed locations, and some species are found in the surf zone above high tide mark, only receiving water from wave action at high tide. The family includes at least 56 recognized species.
- ^ Darwin, Charles (1854). A monograph on the sub-class Cirripedia with figures of all species. The Balanidae, the Verrucidae, etc. London: Ray Society. pp. 1–684.