Amphipoda is an order of malacostracan crustaceans with no carapace and generally with laterally compressed bodies. Amphipods range in size from 1 to 340 millimetres and are mostly detritivores or scavengers. There are more than 9,900 amphipod species so far described. They are mostly marine animals, but are found in almost all aquatic environments. Some 1,900 species live in fresh water, and the order also includes the terrestrial sandhoppers such as Talitrus saltator and Arcitalitrus sylvaticus.
Mysida is an order of small, shrimp-like crustaceans in the malacostracan superorder Peracarida. Their common name opossum shrimps stems from the presence of a brood pouch or "marsupium" in females. The fact that the larvae are reared in this pouch and are not free-swimming characterises the order. The mysid's head bears a pair of stalked eyes and two pairs of antennae. The thorax consists of eight segments each bearing branching limbs, the whole concealed beneath a protective carapace and the abdomen has six segments and usually further small limbs.
Isopoda is an order of crustacean, which includes woodlice and their relatives. Members of this group are called Isopods and include both terrestrial and aquatic species. All have rigid, segmented exoskeletons, two pairs of antennae, seven pairs of jointed limbs on the thorax, and five pairs of branching appendages on the abdomen that are used in respiration. Females brood their young in a pouch under their thorax.
Cumacea is an order of small marine crustaceans of the superorder Peracarida, occasionally called hooded shrimp or comma shrimp. Their unique appearance and uniform body plan makes them easy to distinguish from other crustaceans. They live in soft-bottoms such as mud and sand, mostly in the marine environment. There are more than 1,500 species of cumaceans formally described. The species diversity of Cumacea increases with depth.
Stegocephalidae is a little-studied family of amphipods belonging to the suborder Gammaridea.
Caprella is a large genus of skeleton shrimps belonging to the subfamily Caprellinae of the family Caprellidae. It includes approximately 170 species. The genus was first established by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck in his great work Système des animaux sans vertèbres (1801) to describe Cancer linearis and Squilla ventricosa.
Caprella mutica, commonly known as the Japanese skeleton shrimp, is a species of skeleton shrimp. They are relatively large caprellids, reaching a maximum length of 50 mm (2.0 in). They are sexually dimorphic, with the males usually being much larger than the females. They are characterized by their "hairy" first and second thoracic segments and the rows of spines on their bodies. Body color ranges from green to red to blue, depending on the environment. They are omnivorous highly adaptable opportunistic feeders. In turn, they provide a valuable food source for fish, crabs, and other larger predators. They are usually found in dense colonies attached to submerged man-made structures, floating seaweed, and other organisms.
Caprella acanthogaster is a species of skeleton shrimp in the genus Caprella. It is native to northeast Asia. It closely resembles Caprella mutica but can be distinguished by its smooth first and second pereonites, as well as its linear-shaped gills.
Caprella linearis is a species of skeleton shrimp in the genus Caprella. It is native to the North Atlantic, North Pacific, and the Arctic Ocean. It closely resembles Caprella septentrionalis with which it shares the same geographical distribution.
Crustaceans are invertebrate animals of the subphylum Crustacea, a large, diverse group of mainly aquatic arthropods including decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, opossum shrimps, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean group can be treated as a subphylum under the clade Mandibulata. It is now well accepted that the hexapods emerged deep in the Crustacean group, with the completed group referred to as Pancrustacea. The three classes Cephalocarida, Branchiopoda and Remipedia are more closely related to the hexapods than they are to any of the other crustaceans.
Petalophthalmidae is a family of marine crustaceans in the order Mysida, the opossum shrimps.
Gastrosaccus spinifer is a shrimp-like crustacean in the order Mysida, the opossum shrimps, native to the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the coasts of Northern and Western Europe.
Liropus minusculus is also known as skeleton shrimp found in a reef cave off the coast of Catalina Island, California. It is the only member of Liropus known from the Northeast Pacific Ocean.
Sunamphitoe femorata is a species of amphipod crustacean in the family Ampithoidae. It is a herbivore and constructs a tubular nest-like home on a blade of the sporophyte of the giant kelp Macrocystis pyrifera. This home is made by rolling the sides of the blade together and securing them with silk. As the kelp blade grows, the nest is advanced down the blade towards the base, approximately keeping pace with the algal growth.
Caprellinoides is a genus of amphipods in the family Caprellidae.
Caprella equilibra is a species of skeleton shrimp in the family Caprellidae. It lives among other organisms on the seabed and occurs in both shallow and deep water in many parts of the world.
Caprella penantis is a species of skeleton shrimp in the family Caprellidae. It lives on the seabed in shallow water in many parts of the world. This species was first described in 1814 by the English zoologist William Elford Leach who named it Caprella penantis in honour of the Welsh naturalist Thomas Pennant. The type locality is Devon, England.
Caprella unica is a species of skeleton shrimp in the genus Caprella within the family Caprellidae. The larvae are plankton-like. They are relatively small, with two large and two small antennae. They only live in the sea, and are widely found in Cape Cod, Maine and Newfoundland.
Paraproto is a genus of marine amphipods in the family, Caprellidae, and was first described in 1903 by Paul Mayer. The type species is Paraproto condylata.
