Interstitial-fauna
Guides
Anthopotamus
hacklegilled burrower mayflies
Anthopotamus is a genus of hacklegilled burrower mayflies in the family Potamanthidae, established by McCafferty & Bae in 1990. The genus contains at least four described species distributed in North America. Larvae are specialized burrowers in riverine substrates, notable for their fossorial lifestyle in the hyporheic zone using tusk-like structures for excavation. Adults are short-lived and primarily reproductive.
Peracarida
Amphipods, Isopods, and Allies
Peracarida is a superorder of malacostracan crustaceans comprising approximately 12,000 species across 13 orders. The group is defined by the presence of a marsupium (brood pouch) formed by oostegites—flattened plates on the basalmost leg segments of females. Members occupy marine, freshwater, and terrestrial habitats, ranging from minute interstitial forms to the giant isopod Bathynomus giganteus (76 cm) and giant amphipod Alicella gigantea (34 cm). The earliest known peracaridian, Oxyuropoda ligioides, dates to the Late Devonian (~360 mya).