Notostraca

Notostraca is an order of branchiopod crustaceans, commonly called tadpole shrimp, with a broad shield-like carapace and a long, segmented abdomen.

Branchiopoda: A class of mostly freshwater crustaceans whose thoracic limbs serve in feeding, gas exchange, or locomotion. Notostraca is one branchiopod order, alongside fairy shrimp and water fleas.
Filter feeding: A feeding strategy that removes suspended particles from water using specialized structures. Notostracans can use their thoracic limbs to capture small food particles.
Triops cancriformis: A species of tadpole shrimp found in temporary freshwater habitats across parts of Europe and Asia. It is a familiar European example of the genus often used to illustrate Notostraca.
Lipostraca: An extinct group of Paleozoic branchiopods sometimes proposed as close relatives of Notostraca. Its fossils inform competing hypotheses about the order’s early evolutionary relationships.
Crustacean: An arthropod belonging to a diverse group that includes crabs, insects’ aquatic relatives, and many planktonic forms. Notostracans share the crustacean body plan, including jointed appendages and a chitinous cuticle.
Predation: An interaction in which one organism captures and consumes another organism. Tadpole shrimp also prey on small aquatic animals, rather than relying only on filtering.
Triops longicaudatus: A North American species of tadpole shrimp inhabiting temporary pools and other freshwater environments. This species is widely known in North America and commonly appears in discussions of the order.
Fossil: Preserved remains or traces of organisms from past geological periods. Notostracan fossils provide evidence for the order’s deep history beyond living species.
Carapace: A hard upper covering that protects the body in many crustaceans and other arthropods. The broad carapace is the most conspicuous feature of a notostracan.
Molting: The shedding of an external skeleton or other body covering to permit growth or change. A rigid exoskeleton means notostracans must molt as they increase in size.

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