Barentsia robusta  Osburn, 1955 Common name(s):  Nodding heads
Synonyms:
Phylum Entoprocta Class Order Coloniales Family Barentsiidae
	Barentsia robusta, about 1 mm tall, growing on the plate of a subtidal barnacle.  The stalks and base are partly covered by attached diatoms and other debris.
	(Photo by:  Dave Cowles, July 2008 )

How to Distinguish from Similar Species:  Other local entoproct species are not connected by stolons, or thick or have branching stalks, or have several bendable enlargements along the stalk.

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Biology/Natural History:   The muscular enlargements at the base of Barentsia entoprocts allow the stalks to bend at that point, and they seem to frequently "flick" themselves by bending at the base.  Unlike bryozoans, their tentacles cannot retract back into the calyx.  Instead, they fold down horizontally across the center of the calyx like the petals of a flower when it closes.

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General Notes and Observations:  Locations, abundances, unusual behaviors: