How many types of crustacean shellfish are there?

Do you know the different types of marine crustaceans and how they're classified? We'll help you learn about them!

Differentiating between types of crustaceans can be tricky, as there are 67.000 recognized species.

Although it's a difficult task, at Delfín we want to help you learn about this group of seafood so widely used in gastronomy.

In this post, we'll show you the different types of crustacean shellfish, how they're classified, and which ones are edible.

What is a crustacean shellfish like?

Crustaceans are shellfish characterized by their anatomy. They have an exoskeleton, similar to arthropods, antennae, and biramous appendages.

Biramous appendages are those that have two axes and are found mainly in crustaceans or aquatic arthropods.

At first glance, they are distinguished from the rest by having a shell, like crabs, or an exoskeleton, as is the case with lobsters.

The types of shellfish to eat have great flavor and soft meat.

Types of crustaceans and their names

Classifying the types of crustaceans is not easy, since there is a great diversity within the species itself.

Currently, they are classified into ten different classes according to the World Register of Marine Species:

Branchiopods
Remipedia
Cephalocarids
copepods
Ichthyostraca
Tantulocaridae
Theostracea
Mystacocaridae
Ostracods
Malacostraceans

Next, we will explain in more detail the crustaceans of each class and some of their interesting facts.

Branchiopods

Branchiopods are a type of crustaceans that are divided into different subgroups and the most numerous is known as water fleas.

These animals live in fresh water, although there are salt water species.

A curious thing about branchiopods is that they swim with their backs facing down, using their appendages to propel themselves.

Remipedia

This type of crustaceans is very little known and is divided into two subclasses, one of them It is considered an extinct species.

Remipeds live in deep, salty sea caves.

Cephalocarids

Cephalocarids are one of the smallest types of crustaceans, averaging just 3 mm in size.

There are only 10 types of cephalocarid species and they live at the bottom of aquatic ecosystems.

copepods

Copepods are one of the most abundant classes of crustaceans, with 12.000 known species.

This type of crustacean can be found in all types of water, although they are more abundant in seawater, and at any depth.

Most copepods have become parasites and the best known are the so-called fish lice.

Ichthyostraca

Ichthyostraca are a class of crustaceans that live as parasites of vertebrates.

This type of crustacean is divided into two groups:subclasses, the first lives as ectoparasite of fish and the second is a bird holoparasite, mammals and reptiles.

Tantulocaridae

Tantulocarids are a very little-known type of crustacean. They live in very deep waters and are mostly parasitic species.

One of the curiosities of tantulocarids is that they measure less than 0,5 mm and, due to their small size, they can be found as parasites on the antennae of copepods.

Theostracea

Thecostraca are a type of crustacean that is divided into different subclasses and the best known includes barnacles or sea acorns.

These aforementioned marine animals are part of the seafood family, commonly used in Spanish cuisine. They can also be found in Greece and other Mediterranean countries.

Mystacocaridae

Mystacocarids are a type of tiny crustacean (usually less than 0,5 millimeters in size) with only 13 known species.

They live in South America and the United States, although some species are found on the coasts of Europe and Africa.

Ostracods

This type of crustacean is tiny and was first recognized in 1802. There are 13.000 known species today, although they have a long history of fossil species.

They have a shell formed by two valves where they hide their soft parts composed of the thorax and appendages so characteristic of crustaceans.

Malacostraceans

Malacostraceans are the largest group of crustaceans and are home to the best-known and most widely used species in gastronomy.

One of the interesting things about malacostraca is that their name comes from Greek, meaning "soft shell." This was a way of differentiating them from hard-shelled mollusks.

Within the malacostraceans are found crayfish, lobsters or shrimp.