| Summary: | Naked goose neck barnacles <i>Conchoderma</i> can grow on a wide variety of marine organisms. The taxonomic status of two of its species—<i>C</i>. <i>virgatum</i> and <i>C</i>. <i>hunteri</i>—are currently controversial. Some studies suggest that <i>C</i>. <i>hunteri</i> is a subspecies, variety or growth forms of <i>C</i>. <i>virgatum,</i> because both have great morphological variations, but other studies consider <i>C</i>. <i>hunteri</i> and <i>C</i>. <i>virgatum</i> to be distinct species. The present study examines the morphology and sequence divergence of the COI gene in <i>C</i>. <i>virgatum</i>, <i>C</i>. <i>hunteri</i> and other closely related species. There are consistent morphological differences between <i>C</i>. <i>virgatum</i> and <i>C</i>. <i>hunteri</i> in the tergum, carina and fifth teeth of the mandible. Phylogenetic analysis based on the divergence in the COI gene revealed that <i>C</i>. <i>virgatum</i> and <i>C</i>. <i>hunteri</i> form sister clades with high bootstrap values. The K2P distances within <i>C</i>. <i>hunteri</i> and <i>C</i>. <i>virgatum</i> are 0.034 ± 0.008 and 0.002 ± 0.001 for the COI sequences, respectively. The K2P distance between <i>C</i>. <i>hunteri</i> and <i>C</i>. <i>virgatum</i> is 0.097 ± 0.016. Morphological and molecular evidence confirm that <i>C</i>. <i>hunteri</i> is a valid species.
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