In Which Class Are Shrimp?

Phylum Arthropoda

• According to the University of California Museum of Paleontology, animals in the phylum Arthropoda, present in air, sea and land, make up over three fourths of the animal population. The phylum Arthropoda includes insects and crustaceans. Arthropods have an exoskeleton consisting of segmented bodies and a main cuticle. They have additional, typically jointed, appendages such as antennae and reproductive organs.

Subphylum Crustacea

• Crustaceans, belonging to the phylum Anthropoda, are in a subphylum which includes invertebrates such as crabs, shrimp, lobster and pill bugs. Members of the subphylum Crustacea live as scavengers and some consume plant life. They are the largest consumer of photosynthetic organisms in the seawater called phytoplankton. Acting as a food source for fish, crustaceans are important in the food cycle of the sea and on land.

Class Malacostraca

• Shrimp are further classified into a class called Malacostraca. According to the University of California Museum of Paleontology, members of Malacostraca have a segmented body with between 19 and 20 segments. Five or six of those segments make up the head, and the remaining make up the abdomen and thorax. Malacostraca can be further classified into subclasses called Phyllocarida and Eumalacostraca, which contain crustaceans such as shrimp.

Order Decapoda and Family Palaemonidae

• Shrimp are classified into the order Decapoda. This order contains crustaceans that contain five pairs of appendages used as legs and numerous other thoracic appendages. According to the Guide to the Marine Zooplankton of South Eastern Australia, there are over 8,000 worldwide species in the order Decapoda. Numerous species of shrimp are categorized into the family Palaemonidae. Palaemonidae is of the order Decapoda, and of the suborder Dendrobranchiata. Palaemonidae, known for being carnivores, live in habitats containing water.