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The Malacostraca (Greek: "soft shell") are the largest class of crustaceans and include most of the animals that non-experts recognize as crustaceans, including decapods (such as crabs, lobsters and shrimp), stomatopods (mantis shrimp) and euphausiids (krill). They also include the amphipods and the only substantial group of land-based crustaceans, the isopods (woodlice and related species). With more than 22,000 members, this group represents two thirds of all crustacean species and contains all the larger forms. The first malacostracans appeared in the Cambrian. The classification of crustaceans is currently being debated, and the Malacostraca are regarded by some authors as a class and by others as a subclass. The phylogeny of this group of organisms is debated 1. Recent molecular studies (18S 2and 28S3) have even disputed the monophyly of the Peracarida by removing the Mysida and have firmly disproven the monophyly of the Edriophthalma (Isopoda and Amphipoda) and the Mysidacea (Mysida, Lophogastrida and Pygocephalomorpha).
Morphology
General malacostracan Bauplan
Their characteristics include:
ClassificationMartin and Davis4 present the following classification of living malacostracans into orders, to which extinct orders have been added, indicated by †.
Lysiosquilla maculata, a mantis shrimp
Class Malacostraca Latreille, 1802
ReferencesWikispecies has information related to:
Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
External links
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