Weekend #Plankton #Factoid 🦐🦠

Copepods (latin: oar footed) are the most abundant metazoan (multicellular) organisms on our planet. They live anywhere there is water: oceans, lakes, rivers, ponds, caves, pitcher plants (really), under polar ice, in tropics, even around the hot water near hydrothermal vents. Over 21,000 described species with wildly diverse shapes, avg 1-2mm length in 3 groupings: calanoids, cyclopoids, harpacticoids. Impressive swimmers.

Spongebob's S.J. Plankton is a copepod.