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Image of Orthopsyllus Brady & Robertson 1873
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Harpacticoid Copepods

Harpacticoida Sars G. O. 1903

2012 Moorea Biocode   cc-by-nc-sa-3.0

Harpacticoida (Harpacticoid Copepods) is an order of copepods. There are 4517 species of Harpacticoid Copepods, in 631 genera and 51 families. It includes groups like Metidae, Cylindropsyllidae, and Miraciidae. They rely on drag powered swimming to move around.

  • URI: https://eol.org/schema/terms/drag_based_swimming
  • Definition: Drag swimmers use a cyclic motion where they push water back in a power stroke, and return their limb forward in the return or recovery stroke. When they push water directly backwards, this moves their body forward, but as they return their limbs to the starting position, they push water forward, which will thus pull them back to some degree, and so opposes the direction that the body is heading. This opposing force is called drag. The return-stroke drag causes drag swimmers to employ different strategies than lift swimmers. Reducing drag on the return stroke is essential for optimizing efficiency.
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EOL has data for 17 attributes, including:

Known occurrences, collected specimens and observations of Harpacticoid copepods. View this species on GBIF