Crustacean

Crustaceans (Crustacea /krʌˈstʃə/) form a large, diverse arthropod taxon which includes such animals as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimps, prawns, krill, woodlice, and barnacles.

The crustacean body is protected by the hard exoskeleton, which must be moulted for the animal to grow.

Many crustaceans are consumed by humans, and 10,700,000 tons were produced in 2007; most of this output is of decapod crustaceans: crabs, lobsters, shrimp, crawfish, and prawns.

Non-decapod crustaceans are not widely consumed, with only 118,000 tons of krill being caught, despite krill having one of the greatest biomasses on the planet.