Malacostraca
Sign in to saveMalacostraca is the second largest of the six classes of pancrustaceans behind insects, containing about 40,000 living species, divided among 16 orders. Its members, the malacostracans, display a great diversity of body forms and include crabs, lobsters, spiny lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill, prawns, isopods, amphipods, mantis shrimp, and many other less familiar animals. They are abundant in all marine environments and have colonised freshwater and terrestrial habitats. They are segmented animals, united by a common body plan comprising 20 body segments (rarely 21), and divided into a head,
AI overview
Malacostraca is the second-largest class of pancrustaceans (after insects), containing about 40,000 living species including crabs, lobsters, shrimp, krill, and many other creatures that live in oceans, freshwater, and on land. These segmented animals share a common body structure of 20 segments and are remarkably diverse in form, making them among the most abundant animals in marine environments worldwide.
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Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- taxon
- Parent taxon
- Multicrustacea
- Image
- Eoph MagelaT site2.jpg
Show 3 more facts
- P105
- class
- P5008
Article
15 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- Description
- Tagmata
- Internal anatomy
- Ecology
- Life cycle
- Mating
- Phylogenetics
- Subclass Phyllocarida
- Subclass Hoplocarida
- Subclass Eumalacostraca
- Fossil record
- Classification
- References
- External links
Malacostraca is the second largest of the six classes of pancrustaceans behind insects, containing about 40,000 living species, divided among 16 orders. Its members, the malacostracans, display a great diversity of body forms and include crabs, lobsters, spiny lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill, prawns, isopods, amphipods, mantis shrimp, and many other less familiar animals. They are abundant in all marine environments and have colonised freshwater and terrestrial habitats. They are segmented animals, united by a common body plan comprising 20 body segments (rarely 21), and divided into a head, thorax, and abdomen.
==Etymology== The name Malacostraca is . The word was used by Aristotle, who contrasted them with oysters, in comparison with which their shells are pliable.