See text Balanus is a genus of barnacles in the family Balanidae of the subphylum Crustacea.

This genus is known in the fossil record from the Jurassic to the Quaternary periods (age range: from 189.6 to 0.0 million years ago.).

[1] The bodies of these organisms are totally enclosed by a stony gray-whitish shell.

The active animal can only be observed within the water when the shell opens and the barnacles expose two branched appendages (cirri ) regularly hitting the water to catch food.

These barnacles can be found in coastal areas at low shallow depth, although they can also be seen living out of the water.