The Return of the Barnacle: Nautilus Hunter of the Deep

Back in the very first Minecraft Mob Vote, the Barnacle was one of the proposed mobs that never made it into the game. I believe it’s time for its return, to fill a new role in the ocean ecosystem! I think the Barnacle would be a natural predator of the Nautilus. While it can and will attack the player if nearby, it will always prioritize hunting Nautilus first, this makes it dangerous for players diving to tame the Nautilus due to them being hunted, and more so dangerous while diving deep while riding a Nautilus. Behavior, When a Barnacle detects a Nautilus, it will swim towards it and latch on, dealing steady damage until the Nautilus is eaten. If no Nautilus are present, it may become hostile toward the player. Compared to Drowned with tridents, Barnacles would be less annoying, since they have a clear primary prey target, and no far rage attacks. Gameplay Benefits would make Barnacles would take up part of the ocean’s hostile mob cap, meaning slightly fewer Drowned spawn, helping balance ocean exploration. Players must be more careful when riding the Nautilus, since Barnacles are actively hunting them too, and lastly this adds more life and realism to the oceans, reinforcing the idea that Minecraft’s ecosystem has predator-prey relationships. Also I feel if we make the Nautilus only drop its shell if a Barnacle eats him it would make a unique item farm