Anaspididae is a

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

of freshwater

crustacean Crustaceans (Crustacea, ) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as decapods, seed shrimp, branchiopods, fish lice, krill, remipedes, isopods, barnacles, copepods, amphipods and mantis shrimp. The crustacean group ...

that is endemic to

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. The family contains 3

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...

and 5

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

. This group of crustaceans are considered

living fossil A living fossil is an extant taxon that cosmetically resembles related species known only from the fossil record. To be considered a living fossil, the fossil species must be old relative to the time of origin of the extant clade. Living fossi ...

s. They are commonly and collectively known as the Tasmanian anaspid crustaceans. Anaspidids have stalked eyes, long antennae and

antennule Antennae ( antenna), sometimes referred to as "feelers", are paired appendages used for sensing in arthropods. Antennae are connected to the first one or two segments of the arthropod head. They vary widely in form but are always made of one o ...

s, and a slender body with no carapace. The two species of ''Allanaspides'' and the single species of ''Paranaspides'' are all listed as vulnerable on the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

Taxonomy

*''Allanaspides'' Swain, Wilson, Hickman & Ong, 1970 **''

Allanaspides hickmani ''Allanaspides hickmani'', also known as ''Hickman's Pygmy Mountain Shrimp'', is a species of mountain shrimp in the family Anaspididae Anaspididae is a family of freshwater crustacean that is endemic to Tasmania, Australia. The family contain ...

'' Swain, Wilson & Ong, 1970 – commonly known as Hickman's pygmy mountain shrimp **''

Allanaspides helonomus ''Allanaspides helonomus'' is a species of mountain shrimp in the family Anaspididae Anaspididae is a family of freshwater crustacean that is endemic to Tasmania, Australia. The family contains 3 genera and 5 species. This group of crustaceans ...

'' Swain, Wilson, Hickman & Ong, 1970 *''Anaspides'' Thomson, 1894 **''

Anaspides tasmaniae ''Anaspides tasmaniae'' is a species of fresh water crustacean of the family Anaspididae found in Tasmania. It is also known by the common names "mountain shrimp" or "chris' pseudo-mantis". It has been described as a "living fossil". ''A. tasmani ...

'' Thomson, 1892 **''

Anaspides spinulae Anaspididae is a family of freshwater crustacean that is endemic to Tasmania, Australia. The family contains 3 genera and 5 species. This group of crustaceans are considered living fossils. They are commonly and collectively known as the Tasmania ...

'' Williams, 1965 *''Paranaspides'' Smith, 1908 **''Paranaspides lacustris'' Smith, 1909

References

Crustaceans of Australia Syncarida Crustacean families {{Malacostraca-stub