Amphipods

This group gathers Crustaceans subcategory members belonging to the order Amphipoda, small, laterally flattened crustaceans, often called scuds or sideswimmers, found in enormous numbers across marine, freshwater and even a few damp terrestrial habitats worldwide, from the deepest ocean trenches to mountain streams. Amphipods lack the hard, rounded carapace shell that covers the head and thorax of crabs, lobsters and shrimp, leaving their segmented body plates exposed, and most species swim or crawl on their side, giving the group its informal name. Despite their small size and largely unfamiliar profile outside specialist circles, amphipods are ecologically important as detritus feeders, scavengers and a major food source for fish, making them a critical, if often invisible, link near the base of aquatic food webs worldwide.