Crustacean larvae

Hey there little buddy,

Do you know what a shrimp or a crab is? They are both types of animals called crustaceans. Crustaceans are a type of sea animal that have a hard outer shell or exoskeleton.

Now, when crustaceans are born, they don't look like full-grown shrimp or crabs yet. They start out as larvae, which is a fancy word that means baby animals that look really different from their adult form.

Crustacean larvae are really tiny and some of them even float around in the ocean just like tiny little plankton (that's another word for tiny sea creatures). These larvaes look like tiny, almost transparent, versions of the adult crustaceans that they will become.

As they grow and get bigger, some of these larvae turn into different shapes and sizes. For example, some of them grow extra legs or arms, or they start to look more like a tiny shrimp or crab than they did when they were first born.

Eventually, after they go through different stages of development, these little crustacean larvae will turn into fully grown shrimp, crabs, or other types of crustaceans that we can eat or see at the beach.

So there you have it, little buddy- crustacean larvae are the adorable tiny baby versions of our favorite sea-dwelling shellfish!