Taxonomic classification of chthamalid barnacles has proven challenging because of the preferred environment, resulting in convergence of shell and opercular form. Characters used in classification are weighted heavily to soft part morphology. As this requires time and specialized equipment, effort is made in this project to aid identification for field and biodiversity surveyors. Usually, any given region harbors less than three chthamalid species, which will usually concentrate to preferred microhabitats. Becoming familiar with what should be expected in each area narrows the range of species dramatically. Then, unusual finds can be spotted and sampled for further lab study.