Types of Freshwater Invertebrates in Britain
This lists includes all the types of invertebrates occurring in rivers, streams, ditches, ponds, lakes and groundwater.
Italics = groups that are non-native, but established in the UK.
Bold = Phylum (and subphylum)
Normal font = Class
Indented font = Order
Double indent = Sub order
Protozoa
Porifera
Demospongiae (common sponges)
Cnidaria
Hydrozoa (polyps and hydras)
Scyphozoa (jellyfish)
Platyhelminthes (flatworms)
Turbellaria (free-living flatworms)
Monogenea (flukes)
Trematoda (flukes)
Cestoda (tapeworms)
Gastrotricha (gastrotrichans)
Nemertea/Nemertini (ribbon and bootlace worms)
Nematoda (round-worms)
Cephalorhyncha
Nematomorpha (horsehair worms)
Rotifera (wheel animalcules)
Bdelloidea
Monogononta
Annelida (segmented worms)
Clitellata
Oligochaeta (earthworms and oligochaete worms)
Hirudinea (leeches)
Mollusca
Gastropoda (snails)
Bivalvia (bivalves)
Arthropoda
Crustacea
- Branchiopoda (tadpole shrimps, water fleas, etc.)
- Branchiura (fish lice)
- Copepoda (copepods)
- Ostracoda (ostracods)
- Malacostraca
- Decapoda (crabs and lobsters)
- Isopoda (isopods)
- Amphipoda (shrimps)
- Bathynellacea
- Mysidacea (opossum shrimps or mysids)
Chelicerata
- Arachnida
- Aranea (spiders)
- Acariformes (mites)
Tardigrada (water-bears)
Pentastoma (tongue-worms)
Insecta (insects)
- Nematocera (craneflies, midges, etc)
Brachycera (hoverflies, etc.)
Bryozoa (moss animalcules)
Phylactolaemata
