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",
Branta rhuax determining the affinities so precisely and that the relationships of the bird would remain doubtful until further specimens were obtained. Branta rhuax Branta rhuax is an extinct goose endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. It was initially described into the monotypic genus "Geochen" but assigned to "Branta" by Storrs L. Olson in 2013 after reexamination of the subfossil material. The bird was described in 1943 by Alexander Wetmore from subfossil remains originally discovered in 1926, in the course of a public works excavation of a water supply tunnel. The bones were found at a depth of 25 m beneath a prehistoric