Bathynellacea is an order of crustaceans which live interstitially in groundwater.[3] Some species can tolerate low salt concentrations, and at least one African species is a thermophile, living in hot springs and tolerating temperatures up to 55 °C (131 °F).[citation needed] Bathynellaceans are minute, blind, worm-like animals with short, weak legs,[4] reaching a maximum size of 3.4 millimetres (0.13 in).[5] They are found on every continent except Antarctica, although they are missing from some islands, including Fiji, New Caledonia and the Caribbean islands.[citation needed] There are two families, Bathynellidae and Parabathynellidae; a third family, "Leptobathynellidae", is considered a synonym of Parabathynellidae.[6]
^J. K. Lowry. "Bathynellacea (Malacostraca)". Crustacea, the Higher Taxa: Description, Identification, and Information Retrieval. Archived from the original on December 13, 2010. Retrieved October 20, 2010.
^Jan Drewes & Horst Kurt Schminke (2011). "Number of families within Bathynellacea (Malacostraca) and year of publication of their names, with redescription of Baicalobathynella magna (Bazikalova, 1954) from Lake Baikal". Crustaceana. 84 (11): 1377–1401. doi:10.1163/001121611X590120.
