This classification of crustaceans, points to the
detailed section of each species. Species shown in
red are saltwater species endemic to New zealand,
not found or reproducing anywhere else. For completeness, freshwater species
(marked green)
are also included. Fossil species are shown in black.
Click on the links to find the
details of species. Use the edit/find
option of your browser to find species quickly within this page.
Please note that only the details of grapsidae
and ocipodidae have been done so far.
SUBPHYLUM CRUSTACEA Two pairs of sensory appendages in front of the
mouth and 3 pairs of jaws behind mouth. Some are parasitic and lack all
appendages when adult. The crustacea are mostly aquatic, with 39,000 known
species. Here is where crustaceans fit in the classification of the animal
world:
Phylum ARTHROPODA - joint-legged
animals. Segmented, jointed external skeleton of chitin; paired
limbs on some or all of the segments; body cavity (coelom) reduced, replaced
by a large blood system.
Class CHILOPODA - centipedes
Class DIPLOPODA - millipedes
Class INSECTA - insects
Class CRUSTACEA - crustaceans, joint-legged animals
living in water. Head of six segments; trunk divisible into a thorax
and abdomen; two pairs of feelers; skeleton is often calcified.
Class ARACHNIDA - spiders, harvestmen, mites, ticks
and scorpions
Class PYCNOGONIDA - seaspiders
Class MEROSTOMATA - king crabs or horseshoe crabs
Class TARDIGRADA - bear animalcules living in soil
Class PENTASTOMIDA -
Class ONCHIPHORA - velvet worms
CLASS
Sub class
Order or Super order
Family
Sub-family
Genus - species
Class Cephalocarida - Horseshoe shrimps, which
are all from the Holocene period, primitive and blind.
Class Branchiopoda
-
Leaf-legged freshwater species; water fleas, fairy shrimps, clam shrimps
Order Diplostraca
Suborder Cladocera (Water Fleas)
Bosminidae - Bosmina (Eubosmina) meridionalis
Chydoridae
Aloninae - Alona abbreviata, A. cambouei,
A. guttata, A. macrocarpa, A. quadrangularis, Biapertura affinif, Camptocercus
australis, C. rectirostris, Leydigia ?australis, Monospilus dispar, Oxyurella
tenuicaudis,
Daphniidae - Ceriodaphnia dubia, C. reticulata,
Daphnia carinata, D lumholtzi, D. obtussa, Scapholeberis kingi, Simocephalus
exspinosus, S. obtusatus, S. vetulus
Order Notostraca (Shield Shrimps, Tadpole
Shrimps)
Triopsidae - Lepidurus apus viridis
Class Enantiopoda - Fossil. Known from one
Carboniferous fossil.
Class Remipedia - Holocene Fossil. Body elongated,
with more than 30 segments, each with biramous appendages projecting sideways.
Class Maxillopoda - Five pairs of head appendages.
Up to 11 trunk segments.
Subclass Thecostraca
-
Cypris larva with bivalved carapace. Parasites.
Order Ascothoracica - Cretaceous to present
parasites on sea anemones and sea urchins
Order Rhizocephala - parasites on other crustacea,
mostly decapods
Cirripedia - Barnacles; Late Silurian to present;
sedentary life forms with 6 pairs of trunk limbs (cirri). Attached to the
substratum at the head end; a carapace projecting backward from the head,
consisting of several calcareous plates enclosing the body. Six pairs of
legs; abdomen reduced.
Many New Zealand species
Subclass Tantulocarida - Holocene Fossil
Subclass Ostracoda - Cambrian to present mussel
shriimps or seed Shrimps. Body short and the bivalved carapace encloses
trunk and limbs.
Order Bradoriida - Cambrian to Ordovician
fossil
Order Phosphatocopida - Cambrian fossil
Order Leperditicopida - Cambrian to Devonian
fossil
Order Beyrichicopida - Silurian to Carboniferous
fossil
Order Myodocopida - Silurian to Present marine
species
Order Halocyprida - Silurian to present with
leglike maxilla, 5 pairs of postoral appendages, no eyes, marine.
Order Cladocopida - Silurian to present; only
3 pairs of postoral appendages; marine.
Order Platycopida - Silurian to present; 4
pairs of postoral limbs; antennae biramous; marine.
Order Podocopida
- Ordovician to present; antennae uniramous; 5 pairs of postoral appendages;
marine & freshwater and terrestrial. Seed shrimps, mussel shrimps
Cypridopsinae - Cypridopsis jollea, C.
obstinata, C. vidua,
Cyprinae - Cypretta minna, C. turgida,
C. viridis, C. sanguineus, Cyprinotus flavescens, Cyprinotus incongruens,
Cyprinotus sarsi, Cypris bennelong, Cupris kaiapoiensis, diacypris thomsoni,
Eucypris lateraria, E. pratensis, E. virens, Mesocypris audaz, Scottia
insularis,
Herpetocyprinae - Candonocypris assimilis,
C. novaezelandiae, Herpetocypris pascheri, Ilyodromus obtusus, I. smaragdinus,
I. stanleyanus, I. substriatus, I. varrovillius, Prionocypris marplesi,
Order Arguloida - Fish lice. Wide, flat carapace;
paired compound eyes; unsegmented abdomen; 4 pairs of trunk limbs; mostly
fresh water but some marine.
Subclass Skaracarida - Late Cambrian fossil;
12 trunk segments; no thoracic appendages apart from maxillipeds.
Subclass Copepoda-
Myocene to present; no carapace; no compound eyes; one or more trunk segments
fused to head; typically 6 pairs of thoracic limbs; no abdominal limbs;
free living and parasitic; worldwide; marine and freshwater and some terrestrial;
A richly represented class with 10,000 species mostly living as zooplankton.
Order Calanoida - Planktonic shrimps; antennules
long, usually held stiffly at right angles to the body; heart present;
thorax articulates with a much narrower abdomen; 5th leg biramous; worldwide.
Centropagidae - Boeckella delicata, B.
dilatata, B. hamata, B. minuta, B. propinqua, B. symmetrica, B. tanea,
B. triarticulata, Calamoecia lucasi, Gladioferens pectinatus, G. spinosus,
Order Misophrioida - Carapace-like extension
from the head covers the first segment bearing a swimming leg; heart present
in some; no eyes; antennule with up to 27 segments; 5th leg biramous; marine.
Order Mormonilloida - Antennule with 3 or
4 long segments and long setae; 5th leg absent; marine.
Order Harpacticoida
- Antennules short; abdomen equally wide as thorax; mostly benthic; some
tunnelling in the fronds of seaweeds; marine and fresh water and damp forest
floors
Canthocamptidae - Antarctobiotus australis,
A. diversus, A. elongatus, A. exiguus, A. ignobilis, Antarctobiotus sp.,
A. triplex, Attheyella (Chappuisiella) fluviatilis, A. maorica, A, rotoruensis,
A. bennetti, A. brehmi, A. humidarum, A. stillicidarum, Bryocamptus stouti,
Elaphoidella bidens, Elaphoidella silvestris, Epactophanes richardi, Mesochra
parva
Phyllognathopodidae - Phylognathopus viguieri,
P. volcanicus,
Order Cyclopoida
-
Antennules medium length; thorax wider than abdomen; mandibles for biting
and chewing; 2 egg sacs; marine & fresh water
Order Poecilostomatoida - Parasites and Commensals
of fish and invertebrates
Order Siphonostomatoida - Mouth tubelike or
forming a sucker with stylet like mandibles; adult segmentation reduced
or lost; parasites and commensals on fish and invertebrates; mostly marine
Order Monstrilloida - Parasites on marine
worms and molluscs
Subclass Mystacocarida - Mustache Shrimps.
Elongated blind forms, living in the spaces between sand grains. Only 9
marine species.
Class Malacostraca
- Cambrian to present; compound stalked or sessile eyes; 8 thoracic and
6 abdominal segments; carapace fused with 3 thoracic segments leaves
4 thoracic segments uncovered; A very large class with about 22,000 species.
Subclass Phyllocarida - early Cambrian to
present
Order Archaeostraca - Devonian to Triassic
fossil
Order Hoplostraca - Carboniferous fossil
Order Leptostraca - Permian to present; bivalved
carapace encloses 8 pairs of leaflike limbs; 10 marine species.
Subclass Hoplocarida - Carboniferous to present.
Mantis shrimps.
Order Stomatopoda - Mantis shrimps; Jurassic
to present; eyes stalked; 2 movable segments in head; second thoracic
limbs massive; abdomen 6 segments; first 5 limbs with a partial nipper;
about 350 marine species.
Lysiosquilla spinosa; Several species in New
Zealand.
Order Palaeostomatopoda - Carboniferous fossil
Order Aeschronectida - Carboniferous fossil
Subclass Eumalacostraca - Late Devonian to
Holocene fossils; carapace, when present, not bivalved; thoracic legs with
slender, many-segmented outer branch and stout 7-segmented inner branch;
legs often pincerlike, used in walking or food gathering.
Superorder Syncarida - Carboniferous to present;
No carapace
Order Palaeocaridacea - Carboniferous to Cambrian
fossil
Order Anaspidacea - Permian to present; Fresh
water Australia/Tasmania
Order Stygocaridacea - Blind, elongated forms;
fresh water, NZ and South America
Stygocaridae - Parastygocaris sp, Stygocaris
sp.
Order Bathynellacea - blind, elongated
forms living in spaces between sand grains; south America and New Zealand;
fresh water.
Superorder Peracarida
- females have a ventral brood pouch formed by plates at the bases of the
thoracic limbs; development direct, with offspring immediately resembling
adults; carapace, if present, not fused with more than 4 thoracic segments.
Order Mysidacea - Opossum shrimps, mysid shrimps,
marine; Triassic to present; 780 species.
Mysidae - Tenagomysis
chiltoni, Tenagomysis novaezealandiae,
many marine species in NZ
Order Cumacea - Permian to present; head and
carapace much wider than trunk; uropods long and rodlike; 800 marine species.
Order Spelaeogriphacea - Holocene fossil;
1 species
Order Mictacea - Holocene fossil but still
found in deep sea or in marine caves; 2 species.
Order Tanaidacea - Permian to present; carapace
short, fused to first 2 thoracic segments; 2nd pair of thoracic limbs usually
with pincers; abdomen short usually with five pairs of biramous appendages;
500 marine species.
Tanaidae - Tanais
stanfordi
Order Isopoda
- (even-footed) Pill bugs, wood lice, sea slaters; Carboniferous to present;
eyes sessile; no carapace; abdominal appendages flattened and respiratory
thoracic limbs without exopods; worldwide; marine, freshwater and terrestrial;
about 4000 species.
Phreatoicinae - Neophreatoicus assimilis,
Notamphisopus benhami, N. dunedinensis, N. flavius, N. kirkii, N. littoralis,
N. percevali, Phreatoicus typicus
Valvifera
Idoteidae - Austridotea annectans, A. benhami,
Notidotea lacustris
Order Amphipoda
- (feet of two kinds) Beach hoppers, scuds, well shrimps, shore-skippers,
beach shrimps; Eocene to present; body flattened side to side; legs of
more than one type; eyes not stalked.
Gammaridea
Corophiidae - Paracorophium excavatum,
P. lucasi,
Eusiridae - Paracalliope fluviatilis, P.
karitane, Paraleptamphopus caeruls, Paraleptamphopus subterranus,
Gammaridae - Paracrangonyx compactus, Phreatogammarus
fragilis, Phreatogammarus helmsii, P. propinquus,
Hyalellidae - Chiltonia enderbyensis, C.
mihiwaka, C. rivertonensis,
Superorder Eucarida
- (well-prized) Carapace large, fused dorsally to all thoracic segments;
eyes stalked.
Order
Euphausiacea - Krill. Holocene; carapace does not cover gills; thoracic
limbs with 2 well developed branches; eggs usually shed freely (not carried);
worldwide; 85 marine species.
Euphausia superba whale krill,
Order Amphionidacea - Holocene fossil; 1 species.
Order Decapoda -
Crabs, shrimps, prawns, lobsters and other ten-legged crustaceae; Devonian
to present; carapace large, enclosing gills; first 3 pairs of thoracic
appendages modified for feeding (maxillipeds); usually more than one set
of gills; eggs often attached to abdominal appendages; worldwide; mostly
marine but also freshwater and terrestrial; about 10,000 species.
Order
Euphausiacea - Krill. Holocene; carapace does not cover gills; thoracic
limbs with 2 well developed branches; eggs usually shed freely (not carried);
worldwide; 85 marine species.