Calanoida is an

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

copepod Copepods (; meaning 'oar-feet') are a group of small crustaceans found in nearly every freshwater and saltwater habitat (ecology), habitat. Some species are planktonic (living in the water column), some are benthos, benthic (living on the sedimen ...

s, a group of arthropods commonly found as

zooplankton Zooplankton are the heterotrophic component of the planktonic community (the " zoo-" prefix comes from ), having to consume other organisms to thrive. Plankton are aquatic organisms that are unable to swim effectively against currents. Consequent ...

. The order includes around 46 families with about 1800 species of both marine and

freshwater Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. The term excludes seawater and brackish water, but it does include non-salty mi ...

s between them.

Description

Calanoids can be distinguished from other planktonic copepods by having first antennae at least half the length of the body and

biramous The arthropod leg is a form of jointed appendage of arthropods, usually used for walking. Many of the terms used for arthropod leg segments (called podomeres) are of Latin origin, and may be confused with terms for bones: ''coxa'' (meaning hip, ...

second antennae. However, their most distinctive anatomical trait is the presence of a joint between the fifth and sixth body segments. The largest specimens reach long, but most do not exceed long.

Classification

The order Calanoida contains the following families: *

Acartiidae Acartiidae is a family of Calanoida, calanoid copepods distinguishable by the rostrum (anatomy), rostral margin not being extended. They are Pelagic zone, epipelagic, planktonic animals, not being found below a depth of . There are over 100 descr ...

Aetideidae Aetideidae is a family of copepods belonging to the order Calanoida Calanoida is an order of copepods, a group of arthropods commonly found as zooplankton. The order includes around 46 families with about 1800 species of both marine and freshw ...

* Arctokonstantinidae * Arietellidae * Augaptilidae * Bathypontiidae * Calanidae *

Candaciidae ''Candacia'' is a genus of copepods in the order Calanoida. It is the only genus in the monotypic family Candaciidae. Species The following species are recognised in the genus ''Candacia'': *''Candacia armata'' *''Candacia bipinnata'' *''Cand ...

Centropagidae Centropagidae is a family of copepods in the order Calanoida. Its members are particularly known as plankton in coastal waters and in fresh water in Australia and southern South America. They are also found on subantarctic islands The sub-A ...

* Clausocalanidae * Diaixidae *

Diaptomidae Diaptomidae is a family of freshwater pelagic copepods. It includes around 50 genera: *'' Acanthodiaptomus'' Kiefer, 1932 *'' Aglaodiaptomus'' Light, 1938 *'' Allodiaptomus'' Kiefer, 1936 *''Arctodiaptomus'' Kiefer, 1932 *'' Argyrodiaptomus'' Br ...

* Discoidae * Epacteriscidae * Eucalanidae * Euchaetidae * Fosshageniidae * Heterorhabdidae * Hyperbionycidae * Kyphocalanidae *

Lucicutiidae Lucicutiidae is a family of copepods belonging to the order Calanoida Calanoida is an order of copepods, a group of arthropods commonly found as zooplankton. The order includes around 46 families with about 1800 species of both marine and fres ...

* Megacalanidae * Mesaiokeratidae * Metridinidae *

Nullosetigeridae Nullosetigeridae is a family of copepods belonging to the order Calanoida Calanoida is an order of copepods, a group of arthropods commonly found as zooplankton. The order includes around 46 families with about 1800 species of both marine and ...

Paracalanidae Paracalanidae is a family (biology), family of calanoid copepods, consisting of the following genera: *''Acrocalanus'' Giesbrecht, 1888 *''Calocalanus'' Giesbrecht, 1888 *''Bestiolina'' Andronov, 1991 *''Delibus'' Vives & Shmelava, 2007 *''Paraca ...

* Parapontellidae * Parkiidae * Phaennidae *

Pontellidae Pontellidae is a family of copepods in the order Calanoida Calanoida is an order of copepods, a group of arthropods commonly found as zooplankton. The order includes around 46 families with about 1800 species of both marine and freshwater cope ...

* Pseudocyclopidae * Pseudocyclopiidae * Pseudodiaptomidae * Rhincalanidae * Rostrocalanidae * Ryocalanidae * Scolecitrichidae * Spinocalanidae * Stephidae * Sulcanidae *

Temoridae Temoridae is a family of copepods, containing the following genera: *'' Epischura'' S. A. Forbes, 1882 *'' Epischurella'' Smirnov, 1936 *''Eurytemora ''Eurytemora'' is a genus of copepods in the family Temoridae.Lee, Catherine E., and John D. ...

* Tharybidae * Tortanidae

Ecology

Calanoid copepods are the dominant animals in the

plankton Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms that drift in Hydrosphere, water (or atmosphere, air) but are unable to actively propel themselves against ocean current, currents (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are ca ...

in many parts of the world's oceans, making up 55–95% of plankton samples. They are therefore important in many food webs, taking in energy from

phytoplankton Phytoplankton () are the autotrophic (self-feeding) components of the plankton community and a key part of ocean and freshwater Aquatic ecosystem, ecosystems. The name comes from the Greek language, Greek words (), meaning 'plant', and (), mea ...

and

algae Algae ( , ; : alga ) is an informal term for any organisms of a large and diverse group of photosynthesis, photosynthetic organisms that are not plants, and includes species from multiple distinct clades. Such organisms range from unicellular ...

and 'repackaging' it for consumption by higher

trophic level The trophic level of an organism is the position it occupies in a food web. Within a food web, a food chain is a succession of organisms that eat other organisms and may, in turn, be eaten themselves. The trophic level of an organism is the ...

predators. Many commercial fish are dependent on calanoid copepods for diet in either their

larva A larva (; : larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into their next life stage. Animals with indirect development such as insects, some arachnids, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase ...

l or adult forms.

Baleen whale Baleen whales (), also known as whalebone whales, are marine mammals of the order (biology), parvorder Mysticeti in the infraorder Cetacea (whales, dolphins and porpoises), which use baleen plates (or "whalebone") in their mouths to sieve plankt ...

s such as

bowhead whale The bowhead whale (''Balaena mysticetus''), sometimes called the Greenland right whale, Arctic whale, and polar whale, is a species of baleen whale belonging to the family Balaenidae and is the only living representative of the genus '' Balaena' ...

sei whale The sei whale ( , ; ''Balaenoptera borealis'') is a baleen whale. It is one of ten rorqual species, and the third-largest member after the blue and fin whales. It can grow to in length and weigh as much as . Two subspecies are recognized: ...

right whale Right whales are three species of large baleen whales of the genus ''Eubalaena'': the North Atlantic right whale (''E. glacialis''), the North Pacific right whale (''E. japonica'') and the southern right whale (''E. australis''). They are class ...

s and

fin whale The fin whale (''Balaenoptera physalus''), also known as the finback whale or common rorqual, is a species of baleen whale and the second-longest cetacean after the blue whale. The biggest individual reportedly measured in length, wi ...

s rely substantially on calanoid copepods as a food source.

References

External links

* *
Calanoida fact sheet – guide to the marine zooplankton of south eastern Australia

Classification of Calanoida

Key to calanoid copepod families
{{Authority control Crustacean orders