Are shrimps and lobsters insects?

Lobsters and crabs are crustaceans (along with shrimp, rolypolys, barnacles, etc.). Crustaceans are not insects, but they are closely related to them. Traditionally, insects and crustaceans have been classified as two of the main groups within the phylum Arthropoda – so-called “sister groups”. read more

This new, updated version of the tree of life tells a different story, and pegs modern insects as closer relatives to sea creatures like lobsters, crabs, and shrimp than centipedes and millipedes. This simplified evolutionary tree shows the updated place for crustaceans. read more

Lobsters, crabs and shrimps are also arthropods, but they are not insects. Lobsters, crabs and shrimps are crustaceans. There is evidence that insects evolved from an ancestor that was a crustacean, however, so the two groups are close relatives. read more