Most crustaceans are free-living aquatic animals, but some are terrestrial (e.g. woodlice, sandhoppers), some are parasitic (e.g. Rhizocephala, fish lice, tongue worms) and some are sessile (e.g. barnacles). The group has an extensive fossil record, reaching back to the Cambrian. More than 7.9 million tons of crustaceans per year are harvested by fishery or farming for human consumption, consisting mostly of shrimp and prawns. Krill and copepods are not as widely fished, but may be the animals with the greatest biomass on the planet, and form a vital part of the food chain. The scientific study of crustaceans is known as carcinology (alternatively, malacostracology, crustaceology or crustalogy), and a scientist who works in carcinology is a carcinologist.

The body of a crustacean is composed of segments, which are grouped into three regions: the cephalon or head, the pereon or thorax, and the pleon or abdomen. The head and thorax may be fused together to form a cephalothorax, which may be covered by a single large carapace. The crustacean body is protected by the hard exoskeleton, which must be moulted for the animal to grow. The shell around each somite can be divided into a dorsal tergum, ventral sternum and a lateral pleuron. Various parts of the exoskeleton may be fused together.

The name "crustacean" dates from the earliest works to describe the animals, including those of Pierre Belon and Guillaume Rondelet, but the name was not used by some later authors, including Carl Linnaeus, who included crustaceans among the "Aptera" in his Systema Naturae. The earliest nomenclatural valid work to use the name "Crustacea" was Morten Thrane Brünnich's Zoologiæ Fundamenta in 1772, although he also included chelicerates in the group.

The traditional classification of Crustacea based on morphology recognised four to six classes. Bowman and Abele (1982) recognised 652 extant families and 38 orders, organised into six classes: Branchiopoda, Remipedia, Cephalocarida, Maxillopoda, Ostracoda, and Malacostraca. Martin and Davis (2001) updated this classification, retaining the six classes but including 849 extant families in 42 orders. Despite outlining the evidence that Maxillopoda was non-monophyletic, they retained it as one of the six classes, although did suggest that Maxillipoda could be replaced by elevating its subclasses to classes. Since then phylogenetic studies have confirmed the polyphyly of Maxillopoda and the paraphyletic nature of Crustacea with respect to Hexapoda. Recent classifications recognise ten to twelve classes in Crustacea or Pancrustacea, with several former maxillopod subclasses now recognised as classes (e.g. Thecostraca, Tantulocarida, Mystacocarida, Copepoda, Branchiura and Pentastomida).

Many crustaceans are consumed by humans, and nearly 10,700,000 tons were harvested in 2007; the vast majority of this output is of decapod crustaceans: crabs, lobsters, shrimp, crayfish, langoustine and prawns. Over 60% by weight of all crustaceans caught for consumption are shrimp and prawns, and nearly 80% is produced in Asia, with China alone producing nearly half the world's total. Non-decapod crustaceans are not widely consumed, with only 118,000 tons of krill being caught, despite krill having one of the greatest biomasses on the planet. Krill are, however, a speciality in China and Japan and are used pickled in Korea. They are also consumed in Artic regions and are being introduced to new consumers as fusion recipes using frozen and tinned krill. Gooseneck barnacles (Pollicipes pollicipes) are a speciality of Spanish cuisine (recipes including krill and gooseneck barnacles can be found in the links below). The Pacific goose barnacle, Pollicipes elegans is also consumed, particularly in Alaska. The Japanese goose barnacle, Capitulum mitella is eaten in Japan. The Chilean giant barnacle or picoroco (Austromegabalanus psittacus) is routinely fished for food. Woodlice are sometimes consumed by foragers. Dried prawns (locally known as crawfish) are used as a flavouring and thickener in West African stews.

The alphabetical list of all the Crustacean-based recipes on this site follows, (limited to 100 recipes per page). There are 671 recipes in total:

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Street Food Pad Thai      Origin: Thailand	Thai Red Curry Paste      Origin: Thailand	Ukaeb (Minced Crab with Coconut Cream)      Origin: Palau
Stufato del Pescatore (Italian Fisherman's Stew)      Origin: Italy	Thai Red Curry Paste      Origin: Thailand	Ukwa (Breadfruit Porridge)      Origin: Nigeria
Stuffed Morels      Origin: American	Thai Shrimp Soup      Origin: Thailand	Ulkoy (Palauan Shrimp Patties)      Origin: Palau
Surf and Turf Kebabs      Origin: Britain	Thai Yellow Curry Paste      Origin: Thailand	Ulkoy (Filipino Shrimp Patties)      Origin: Philippines
Surinamese Nasi Goreng      Origin: Suriname	Thai-style Red Seafood Curry      Origin: Fusion	Urap (Steamed Vegetables with Coconut)      Origin: Brunei
Tähroro (Fermented Coconut Sauce)      Origin: Rotuma	Thiebou Kéthiakh (Rice with Dried Fish, Seafood and Vegetables)      Origin: Senegal	Vary sy laoka malagasy (Malagasy Prawn Curry with Vanilla Rice)      Origin: Madagascar
Tai Monomono (Fermented Coconut Sauce)      Origin: Cook Islands	To Dress Crab      Origin: Britain	Victorian Green Saag with Prawns      Origin: Anglo-Indian
Taioro      Origin: Tahiti	To make Verjuyce.      Origin: Britain	West African-style Barbecue Sauce      Origin: African Fusion
Taiwanese Hot Pot      Origin: Taiwan	Tobago Curry Crab and Dumplings      Origin: India	White Crab and Cabbage Shanghai Buns      Origin: China
Tam Mak Hoong (Laotian Papaya Salad)      Origin: Laos	Tom Yam Goong 1      Origin: Thailand	Whitebeam Berry Jelly      Origin: Britain
Tam Som (Lao Green Papaya Salad)      Origin: Laos	Tom Yam Goong 2      Origin: Thailand	Wildberry Crisp      Origin: Britain
Tandoori King Prawns      Origin: India	Tom Yam Goong Maenam      Origin: Thailand	Wontons      Origin: China
Tandoori King Prawns      Origin: Britain	Tom Yum Talay (Fish Stew)      Origin: Thailand	Wouré Burakhè Magilinri (Sweet Potato Leaf Sauce)      Origin: Guinea
Tapado (Seafood Soup)      Origin: Guatemala	Toshikoshi Soba (New Year's Eve Soba)      Origin: Japan	Xiao Long Xia (Garlic-braised Crayfish)      Origin: China
Taro aux Fruits de Mer (Taro with Seafood)      Origin: Cote dIvoire	Trassie Trafasie (Suriname Shrimp Paste Sauce)      Origin: Suriname	Xinxim (Brazilian Chicken and Crayfish in Peanut Sauce)      Origin: Brazil
Teisennau Cranc wedi'u Grilio (Barbecued Crab Cakes)      Origin: Welsh	Traybake Keralan Fish Curry      Origin: Fusion	Xuyi Shisanxiang Longxia (Jiangsu Crayfish Cooked with Thirteen-Spice Powder)      Origin: China
Terung Saus Santan (Fried Aubergines with Coconut Milk)      Origin: Papua	Trini Curried Shrimp Patty      Origin: Trinidad	Yétissé de Poulet (Chicken Yétissé)      Origin: Guinea
Thai Crab and Sea-blite Curry      Origin: Thailand	Trinidad Crab and Callaloo      Origin: Trinidad	Yambo      Origin: Aruba
Thai Green Curry of Prawn and Fish      Origin: Thailand	Trinidadian Crab Backs      Origin: Trinidad	Yebeh (Yam and Fish in Red Palm Oil)      Origin: Sierra Leone
Thai Green Curry Paste      Origin: Thailand	Trinidadian Fried Wontons      Origin: Trinidad	Z'habitants (Martinique Callaloo)      Origin: Martinique
Thai Green Curry Paste II      Origin: Thailand	Trout Kedgeree      Origin: Britain	Zarzuela de Mariscos (Seafood Zarzuela)      Origin: Spain
Thai Hake Bites      Origin: South Africa	Turkey and Yam Pepper Soup      Origin: Nigeria	Zavla (Dried Prawn Curry)      Origin: India
Thai Mango Fish Curry      Origin: Thailand	Tuvaluan Crab Curry      Origin: Tuvalu	Zupa di Pesce (Seafood Soup)      Origin: Cayman Islands
Thai Pork Curry in the Burmese Style      Origin: Myanmar	Udang Masak Lemak Nenas (Pineapple Prawn Curry)      Origin: Malaysia

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