Goose barnacle migrate, it was thought that barnacle geese, "Branta leucopsis", developed from this crustacean, since they were never seen to nest in temperate Europe, hence the English names "goose barnacle", "barnacle goose" and the scientific name "Lepas anserifera" (, "goose"). The confusion was prompted by the similarities in colour and shape. Because they were often found on driftwood, it was assumed that the barnacles were attached to branches before they fell in the water. The archdeacon of Brecon, Gerald of Wales, made this claim in his "Topographia Hiberniae". Since barnacle geese were thought to be "neither flesh, nor born of flesh",
Whale barnacle sirenians, and crabs–as a group specializing on baleen whales. Turtle barnacles are known from before the Early Tertiary which ended 23 million years ago (mya), and whale barnacles probably diverged in the Late Pliocene 3.5 to 3 mya. "Chelonibia testudinaria" turtle barnacle remains from the Pliocene of Italy seemed to have been associated with right whales ("Balaena" spp.), and could represent a transitional phase; the lack of competing barnacle species and the softer skin compared to the turtle carapace may have led to a divergence and a dispersal. Since whale barnacles are monophyletic, and the family contains a common ancestor