Unlike previous surveys, his included the canopy, or upper part of the trees. He concluded that probably 15 to 30 million insect species live on the earth, a radical and enlightening departure from the previous estimate of somewhere around one million. Because we are destroying our rainforests so quickly, countless species are becoming extinct before scientists even discover them. Exoskeletons, which are strong, light, and waterproof, must be shed periodically to allow the animal to grow. Covering as much as 10 miles a day, the lobsters walk single file in groups of up to 60, lightly touching each other to stay together.
Barnacles are crustaceans, as are hermit crabs, shrimps, and pill bugs.
Other species of barnacles often live on ship hulls, where they impede water flow and may increase a ship's fuel cost by 40 percent per year. Today copper solutions are commonly used to prevent these filter feeders from attaching themselves to boats and other aquatic equipment. In the future, natural toxins from marine sponges may form the base of solutions used to discourage barnacle growth. At maturity, their legspan averages 10 feet, although it may reach 13 feet. In contrast to their long legs, their bodies are only about 14 inches in diameter.