Phylum ArthropodaClass Crustacea Shrimp Hermit Crab Spiny Crab

Phylum Arthropoda-Class Crustacea Shrimp Hermit Crab Spiny Crab Daphnia

Characteristics • Have 3 body sections-head, thorax, abdomen • Sometimes the head and thorax are joined together, this is called the cephalothorax • 3 mouth parts • 5 or more pairs of legs • 2 pairs of antennae • Sometimes have a chiliped-a claw used for eating and for defense • Some crustaceans can regenerate lost limbs

Facts • More than 50, 000 species • Lobsters, crabs, krill, shrimp, barnacles, and crayfish are examples • 10, 000 tons of crustaceans were produced in 2005 for human consumption • Exoskeleton made of the protein chitin (a hard substance) and calcium

Krill • Staple in many large marine animals diet such as baleen whales, mantas, whale sharks, crabeater seals and other seals, and a few seabird species • Occur in all oceans of the world. Thousands of Krill

Barnacle Larvae New species of “Blonde Lobster” Barnacles Mantis Shrimp Barnacle feeding under water

Importance of Crustaceans • The larger crustaceans (shrimps, lobsters, and crabs) are used as food throughout the world • Small crustaceans, such as water fleas, and krill, eat photosynthetic plankton and larger carnivores such as fish and whales eat them. • Still others are crucial in recycling nutrients trapped in the bodies of dead organisms.