Cumaceans

Cumaceans, Class Cumacea

Cumaceans
An Arctic cumaceans.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Crustacea
Class:	Malacostraca
Superorder:	Peracarida
Order:	Cumacea

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Cumaceans are marine crustaceans that live buried in sand or mud all over the world. Approximately 34 species have been found in the Arctic. Cumaceans typically live at depths of less than 200 m and, when conditions are favourable, populations reach densities of hundreds per square metre!

General Information and Anatomy

Cumaceans are characterized by a large, bulb-shaped region, which comprises their head and thorax, a narrow abdomen, and five pairs of legs. Their bodies range in length from about 0.5 to 2 cm and are surrounded by a shield-like plate. Cumaceans possess three pairs of bristle-covered feeding appendages, which are used for filter feeding or scraping organic matter from sand grains. They are able to burrow backwards and often end up buried with just their head projecting above the surface.

Behaviour and Distribution

Most juvenile cumaceans shed their plates at various times throughout the summer. Some species, such as the arctic cumacean, Diastylis rathkei, moult at the same time, with thousands of juveniles swarming the ocean's surface all at once!

External resources

Name	ID
NCBI Taxonomy	27412
WikiSpecies	Cumacea
Wikipedia	Cumacea
iNaturalist	Copepoda
BOLD	348