Amphipoda
Sign in to saveAmphipoda () is an order of malacostracan crustaceans with no carapace and generally with laterally compressed bodies. Amphipods () range in size from 1 to 340 millimetres (0.039 to 13 in) and are mostly detritivores or scavengers. More than 10,700 amphipod species are currently recognized. They are mostly marine animals but are found in almost all aquatic environments. Some 2,250 species live in fresh water, and the order also includes the terrestrial sandhoppers, such as Talitrus saltator and Arcitalitrus sylvaticus.
AI overview
Amphipods are small crustaceans with flattened bodies and no shell-like covering that live in oceans, freshwater, and on land, ranging from tiny creatures less than an inch long to ones over a foot in length. With over 10,700 known species, most amphipods survive by eating decaying matter and scavenging, making them important members of aquatic food webs and ecosystems.
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Article
12 sectionsContents
- Description
- Anatomy
- Size
- Reproduction and life cycle
- Ecology
- Foraging behaviour
- Nomenclature
- Taxonomy
- Fossil record
- See also
- References
- External links
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 (0.039 to 13 in) and are mostly detritivores or scavengers. More than 10,700 amphipod species are currently recognized. They are mostly marine animals but are found in almost all aquatic environments. Some 2,250 species live in fresh water, and the order also includes the terrestrial sandhoppers, such as Talitrus saltator and Arcitalitrus sylvaticus.
==Description== ===Anatomy=== thumb|Anatomical diagram of the gammaridean amphipod [[Leucothoe incisa]] Amphipods are characterized by sessile eyes (without eyestalks), no carapace, and the presence of gills on the coxae. Their bodies are divided into 13 segments, which can be grouped into the head, thorax and abdomen.