Freshwater crab Freshwater crab There are around 1,300 species of freshwater crabs, distributed throughout the tropics and subtropics, divided among eight families. They show direct development and maternal care of a small number of offspring, in contrast to marine crabs which release thousands of planktonic larvae. This limits the dispersal abilities of freshwater crabs, so they tend to be endemic to small areas. As a result, a large proportion are threatened with extinction. There are more than 1,300 described species of freshwater crabs, out of a total of 6,700 species of crabs across all environments. The total number of species of freshwater
Marine microorganism a large number of eukaryotic microbial communities have yet to be discovered. At least one microscopic animal group, the parasitic cnidarian Myxozoa, is unicellular in its adult form, and includes marine species. Other marine microanimals are multicellular. Microscopic arthropods are more commonly found inland in freshwater, but there are marine species as well. Microscopic marine crustaceans include some copepods, cladocera and water bears. Some marine nematodes and rotifers are also too small to be seen with the naked eye, as are many loricifera, including the recently discovered anaerobic species that spend their lives in an anoxic environment. Copepods contribute more