Guide to New Zealand's freshwater invertebrates

Copepods

Copepods ( Calanoida : Calanoida )

Antennae longer than the length of the body

Diagnostic features

Copepods are small (less than 3mm long) swimming crustaceans with an almost teardrop (or short comet) shape. Their swimming motion is often more sustained and less jerky than the cladocerans that often share the same habitats. Calanoid copepods have antennae that are longer than the length of the body.

Typical habitats

Calanoids are primarily inhabitants of ponds and wetlands rather than streams. We have found them in stormwater treatment ponds.

Feeding

Calanoids are filter feeders, using long filtering hairs on their mouthparts to catch planktonic algae and bacteria.

Indicator value

Calanoids are associated with pond and wetland habitats. Their occurrence in stormwater ponds suggests some species can tolerate poor water quality conditions. The Order Copepoda has been assigned tolerance values of 5 (hard bottom sites) and 2.4 (soft bottom sites).