Niphargus

Niphargus
Niphargus ictus Grotte di Frasassi
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Crustacea
Class:	Malacostraca
Order:	Amphipoda
Family:	Niphargidae
Genus:	Niphargus Schiødte, 1847
Species
Over 300; see text

Over 300; see text

Niphargus is by far the largest genus of its family, the Niphargidae, and the largest of all freshwater amphipod genera.

Usually, these animals inhabit caves or groundwater. They occur mainly in western Eurasia, in regions that were not covered by the ice sheets. Some are found southwestwards of this range; on the other hand this genus is largely missing from Iberia. In their main range – the central Mediterranean region through Central and Eastern Europe to the Ukraine – they are among the most significant organisms inhabiting the groundwater.

The genus Niphargus contains the following species:

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Wikipedia