Crustaceashrimps, crabs,

lobsters, water fleas, and relatives

By Phil Myers
Approximately 30,000 species make up this Subphylum. Most are aquatic; of these, the
majority are marine but some are found in fresh water. Members of the Subphylum
include lobsters, crabs, crayfish, shrimp, copepods, barnacles, and several other groups
of organisms. All have two pairs of antennae, a pair of mandibles, a pair of compound
eyes (usually on stalks), and two pair of maxillae on their heads, followed by a pair of
appendages on each body segment (crustacean bodies usually are made up of head,
thorax, and abdomen, although the segments composing these tagmata differ among
different Classes). The appendages are primitively branched (biramous), and although
this condition is modified in many species, adults always have at least some biramous
appendages. Crustaceans respire via gills. Like other arthropods, all have a hard but
flexible exoskeleton.

Most crustaceans are free-living, but some are sessile and a few are even parasitic. Most
use their maxillae and mandibles to take in food. The walking legs, including specialized
chelipeds, may be used to help capture prey. Some crustaceans filter tiny plankton or
even bacteria from the water; others are active predators; while still others scavenge
nutrients from detritus.

Most crustaceans are dioecious. The actual mechanisms by which fertilization is achieved
vary greatly. Some crustaceans hatch young that are like miniature adults; others go
through a larval stage called a nauplius.

Many species, including lobsters, crayfish, barnacles, and crabs are important to human
economies, some very much so. Others, such as krill, are at the base of extremely
important marine food chains. Still others are crucial in recycling nutrients trapped in the
bodies of dead organisms.

Click on the name of a Class to learn more :

 Class Remipedia
 Class Cephalocarida
 Class Branchiopoda (fairy shrimp, water fleas, etc.)
 Class Maxillopoda (ostracods, copepods, barnacles)
 Class Malacostraca (isopods, amphipods, krill, crabs, shrimp, etc.)

Source:

Hickman, C.P. and L. S. Roberts. 1994. Animal Diversity. Wm. C. Brown, Dubuque, IA.

Brusca, R. C., and G. J. Brusca. Invertebrates. 1990. Sinauer Associates, Sunderland,

MA.

Pearse, V., J. Pearse, M. Buchsbaum, and R. Buchsbaum. 1987. Living

Invertebrates. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Palo Alto, Ca.

Contributors
Phil Myers (author), Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.

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Crustaceans are animals in the Phylum Arthropoda and Subphylum Crustacea.

The word crustacean comes from the Latin word crusta, which means shell.

Answer:
Crustaceans are a very diverse group of invertebrate animals which includes
active animals such as the crabs, lobsters, shrimp, krill, copepods, amphipods
and more sessile creatures like barnacles.

Characteristics of Crustaceans
All crustaceans have:

 A hard, but flexible exoskeleton or shell

 Two pairs of antennae
 A pair of mandibles (which are appendages used for eating)
 Two pairs of maxillae on their heads (additional mouth parts located after
the mandibles)
 Two compound eyes, often on stalks
 Segmented bodies with appendages on each body segment
 Gills

Crustaceans are animals in the Phylum Arthropoda, and Subphylum Crustacea.

Classes, or broad groups of crustaceans, include the Branchiopoda

(branchiopods), Cephalocarida (horseshoe shrimp), Malacostraca (the class that
is probably most important to humans, and includes crabs, lobsters, and
shrimps), Maxillopoda (which includes copepods and barnacles), Ostracoda (seed
shrimp), Remipedia (remipedes, and Pentastomida (tongue worms).

Crustaceans are diverse in form and live around the world in a variety of habitats
- even on land. Marine crustaceans live anywhere from shallow intertidal areas to
the deep sea.

Crustaceans and Humans

Crustaceans are some of the most important marine life to humans - crabs,
lobsters and shrimp are widely fished and consumed around the world. They may
also be used in other ways - crustaceans like land hermit crabs may also be used
as pets, and marine crustaceans may be used in aquariums.

In addition, crustaceans are very important to other marine life, with krill,
shrimp, crabs and other crustaceans serving as prey for marine animals such
as whales, pinnipeds, and fish.