|
|
|
J. Nybakken Remipedia The Remipedia is a class of the subphylum Crustacea. This class was first described in 1981 from specimens found in submarine caves connected to the ocean in the Turks and Caicos and Bahama islands in the Caribbean Sea. These animals are considered to be among the most primitive of the living crustaceans. They have an elongated body behind the head that consists of up to 32 similar segments such that they resemble polychaete worms. Each of the segments behind the head has a pair of oarlike appendages that the animals employ to paddle through the water. Swimming on their back, their style of locomotion is similar to that of brine shrimp. Remipedia are blind and hermaphroditic, that is, both sexes reside in the same individual, and little is known about their life cycle. |