The Cyclopoida are an order of small
crustaceans from the subclass
Copepoda. Like many other copepods, members of Cyclopoida are small,
planktonicanimals living both in the sea and in freshwater
habitats. They are capable of rapid movement. Their
larval development is metamorphic, and the
embryos are carried in paired or single sacs attached to first abdominal
somite.[1]
Distinguishing features
Cyclopoids are distinguished from other copepods by having first antennae shorter than the length of the head and thorax, and uniramous second antennae. The main joint lies between the fourth and fifth segments of the body.[2]
Several more families are included in Suborder
Poecilostomatoida, a temporary name for the "poecilostome lineage" [4] The Poecilostomatoida were previously treated as a separate order, but molecular phylogenies show that this lineage is nested within the Cyclopoida.[5]
^Barnes, Robert D. (1982). Invertebrate Zoology. Philadelphia, PA: Holt-Saunders International. p. 692.
ISBN0-03-056747-5.
^Geoff Boxshall & T. Chad Walter (2018). T. Chad Walter & Geoff Boxshall (ed.).
"Cyclopoida". World of Copepods database.
World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved April 11, 2018.