Phylum Arthropoda-Class Crustacea Hermit Crab Shrimp Daphnia Spiny Crab

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 10,000,000 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 Barnacles Barnacle feeding under water Mantis Shrimp New species of “Blonde Lobster”

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.