The roughly 40 known species of lophogastrids were formerly combined with another group of
Peracarida, the
Mysida, as the
Mysidacea. Most lophogastrids are between 1 and 8 cm long, but
Gnathophausia ingens may reach 35 cm. All lophogastrids are pelagic (i.e., open water) swimmers and the group is distributed throughout the world's oceans. Lophogastrids feed mainly on zooplankton. (Brusca and Brusca 2003) An excellent online source on the Lophogastrida is Gary Anderson's
Peracarida Taxa and Literature website.
