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Types of Freshwater Invertebrates in Britain

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