Crustacean

Class Branchiopoda

Taxonomy

The formal classification of crustaceans varies somewhat. In general, because of the large number of species, taxonomists have made extensive use of subordinate taxonomic categories (suborders, superfamilies and so forth), and the status of different groupings is frequently controversial; this can make taxonomic references hard to follow. Evolutionary relationships between the different groups are not entirely clear, making the exact definition of larger groups difficult.

Related Topics:
Suborder - Superfamilies

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Some authorities have treated the entire group of crustaceans as a class, in which case the classes escribed in the taxonomic table are treated as subclasses. Other authors omit some or all of the classes listed here, in which case some of the groups given here as subclasses are promoted to full class rank. This listings given at the end of this article and in the summary table at the right are those recommended by ITIS, and as such probably represent a consensus of modern opinion. However, good practice in describing crustaceans must clearly be to include descriptions at several taxonomic levels, to ensure that readers can link the information to others' schemes.

Related Topics:
Class - Subclasses - ITIS

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Less formally, we can state that the most important groups of crustaceans are barnacles (infraclass Cirripedia), branchiopods, copepods and Malacostraca (crabs, lobsters, shrimps and krill). There are around 1,220 barnacle species, 1,000 branchiopods, 13,000 copepods, and 30,000 Malacostraca.

Related Topics:
Barnacle - Cirripedia - Branchiopod - Copepod - Malacostraca - Crab - Lobster - Shrimp - Krill

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