crustaceans
Crustaceans, such as shrimp, lobsters, crabs, and crayfish, are the dominant aquatic arthropods. A few crustaceans are [3] terrestrial species like the pill bugs or sow bugs. The number of described crustacean species stands at about 47,000. Although the basic body plan in crustaceans is similar to the Hexapodahead, thorax, and abdomenthe head and thorax may be fused in some species to form a cephalothorax, which is covered by a plate called the carapace Figure 15.22 . The exoskeleton of many species is also infused with calcium carbonate, which makes it even stronger than in other arthropods. Crustaceans have an open circulatory system in which blood is pumped into the hemocoel by the dorsal heart. Most crustaceans typically have separate sexes, but some, like barnacles, may be hermaphroditic. Serial hermaphroditism, in which the gonad can switch from producing sperm to ova, is also found in some crustacean species. Larval stages are seen in the early development of many crustaceans. Most crustaceans are carnivorous, but detritivores and filter feeders are also common.