Copepod
Calanoida
Cyclopoida
Gelyelloida
Harpacticoida
Misophrioida
Monstrilloida
Mormonilloida
Platycopioida
Poecilostomatoida
Siphonostomatoida
</table>
Copepods are small, aquatic
animals living in the sea and nearly every freshwater habitat, a form of
plankton, specifically
zooplankton, some copepods are parasitic.
Copepods form a
subclass belonging to the subphylum
crustaceans (some authors consider the copepods as a full
class). The group contains 10
orders with some 14 000 described
species.
Copepods are very important food organisms for small
fish,
whales and other crustaceans in the ocean. They are typically
1-2 mm long. They feed directly on
phytoplankton and catch with their feeding legs single cells from the water. Some scientists say they form the largest
biomass on earth. They compete for this title with the Antarctic
krill Euphausia superba.
Copepods are commonly found in the public mains water supply. This is not usually a problem in treated water supplies, although a correlation has been found between copepods and
cholera in untreated water.
As copepods are crustaceans, they are not regarded as
kosher, which can cause problems for observant Jews in areas where copepods are present in the public water supply. This can be remedied by filtering the water.
