This article will help you in treating your barnacles properly to make them healthy and helpful pets.
- Don't overfeed barnacles! Poor things don't know when to stop!
(torn note recovered from the Arctic scientific center)
Barnacle (Lamedurus xenomorphus) is a species of alien organism found originally in the border world "Xen". These organisms are part of the phylum Mollusca, class Crustacea, order Maxillopoda, and family Cirripedia. These barnacles have a unique passive lifestyle which consists of holding their bodies stationary while their tongue-like tentacle is hanging stretched far away. The body of a living barnacle is almost impossible to separate from the surface, although dead ones lose connection quickly and fall off dragged by their own weight.
Distribution and habitat
On Earth barnacles occur in all sorts of environments from hot deserts of New Mexico to cold icy caves of Antarctica, where flat enough ceiling surfaces are available. Barnacles prefer darker places where there is less chance of being spotted by potential prey.
Diet
Barnacle is a carnivore and feeds on flesh, both of Earth or alien origin. Cannibalism is also not uncommon among these.
Behavior
All of its lifetime barnacles reside in one place, promptly attaching themselves to a suitable surface. In order to hunt for prey, they extend their only tentacle (or "tongue") that serves both as detection and feeding mechanism. When a new object touches the tongue, it sticks to adhesive surface of the "tongue" and barnacle immediately wraps it tightly around the prey and starts lifting it into its main body...
If wounded, barnacle will release whatever it was holding, pulling or chewing. Upon dissection of barnacle corpses, all sorts of items were found inside, including those not usually edible.
Intelligence
Level of intelligence of the subject is pretty low. It helps to determine edibility of an object, but only after pulling it into barnacle's "mouth". This sometimes leads to fatal injuries e.g. upon swallowing of bombs, grenades or other projectiles.
Interactions with other predators
Barnacles don't discern classes of organisms it consumes. It may eat any predator if its weight and size allows it.
Social structure
Unknown.
Communication
Unknown.
Seriously, don't throw grenades at barnacles. They may become your tactical allies!
Do they chew a bubblegum?
You are welcome to try :D
Serously, you can add such item to the game.
But this got me an idea: what if I introduce such bubblegum that would keep barnacles occupied forever? hm-m-m...
Barnacles are pretty cute and omnivores, but me... Still waiting for tne new "friends" in game. At least, revised and fixed to the new standard monsters from Alpha Version