| Popis: |
Eumalacostraca is by far the largest and most diverse clade of Multicrustacea. Both cohorts, Caridoida and Hoplocarida, extend back to at least the middle of the Paleozoic. Others among these species eventually might be assigned to actual crown taxa when understanding of their anatomy becomes clearer, as indeed has happened in one case. However, many of the earliest fossils are incomplete in their preservation, and what is known of their anatomy requires that they be treated cautiously. Thus, they are best characterized as “stem forms” rather than being squeezed into some higher taxon. These groups do illustrate aspects of the earliest eumalacostracan radiation. |
