Peracarida

Peracarida
Temporal range: upper Devonian–present, 365–0 Ma
The amphipod Bathyporeia elegans with an egg in its marsupium
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Malacostraca
Subclass: Eumalacostraca
Superorder: Peracarida
Calman, 1904 [1]

The superorder Peracarida is a large group of malacostracan crustaceans, having members in marine, freshwater, and terrestrial habitats. They are chiefly defined by the presence of a brood pouch, or marsupium, formed from thin flattened plates (oostegites) borne on the basalmost segments of the legs.[2] Peracarida is one of the largest crustacean taxa and includes about 12,000 species. Most members are less than 2 cm (0.8 in) in length,[3] but the largest is probably the giant isopod (Bathynomus giganteus) which can reach 76 cm (30 in). The earliest known perecaridian was Oxyuropoda ligioides, a fossil of which has been found dating to the Late Devonian (more than 360 mya) of Ireland.[4]

  1. ^ W. T. Calman (1904). "On the Classification of the Crustacea Malacostraca" (PDF). Annals and Magazine of Natural History. 13 (74): 144–158. doi:10.1080/00222930408562451.
  2. ^ G. C. B. Poore (2002). "Superorder: Peracarida Calman, 1905". Crustacea: Malacostraca. Syncarida, Peracarida: Isopoda, Tanaidacea, Mictacea, Thermosbaenacea, Spelaeogriphacea. Zoological Catalogue of Australia. Vol. 19.2A. CSIRO Publishing. pp. 24–25. ISBN 978-0-643-06901-5.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Ruppert was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Robin, N.; Gueriau, P.; Luque, J.; Jarvis, D.; Daley, A. C.; Vonk, R. (2021). "The oldest peracarid crustacean reveals a Late Devonian freshwater colonization by isopod relatives". Biology Letters. 17 (6). The Royal Society: 20210226. bioRxiv 10.1101/2021.04.25.441336. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2021.0226. ISSN 1744-957X. PMC 8205522. PMID 34129798.