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 630 recipes in total:

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Abacha Ncha (Dried Cassava with Garden Eggs)      Origin: Nigeria	Bahamian Lobster Curry      Origin: Bahamas	Cacenni Corgimwch ac Eog â Iogwrt Mintys (Prawn and Salmon Fishcakes with Minted Yoghurt)      Origin: Welsh
Abadejo a la Pimienta Verde (Pollock with Green Pepper)      Origin: Spain	Baked Crab Rangoon      Origin: America	Cacenni Cranc ac Eog â Iogwrt Mintys (Crab and Salmon Fishcakes with Minted Yoghurt)      Origin: Welsh
Achaari Jhinga (Indian Pickled Prawns)      Origin: India	Balachaung Gyaw (Fried Dried Shrimp with Chillies)      Origin: Myanmar	Cajun Chicken and Seafood Gumbo      Origin: Cajun
Adalu (Bean and Sweetcorn Pottage)      Origin: Nigeria	Balchão de Camarão (Goan Prawn Pickle)      Origin: India	Cajun Crayfish Bread      Origin: Cajun
Afang Soup      Origin: Nigeria	Banankou Fida (Sokossoko with Kidneys)      Origin: Guinea	Cajun Crayfish Cornbread      Origin: Cajun
Afia Efere (White Soup)      Origin: Nigeria	Banga Soup      Origin: Nigeria	Cajun Shrimp-stuffed Pistolettes      Origin: Cajun
African All Purpose Seasoning      Origin: Nigeria	Barbecued Goose Barnacles with Garlic Butter      Origin: America	Calalou (Beninese Callaloo)      Origin: Benin
Agushi Soup (Ghanaian Egusi Soup)      Origin: Ghana	Barbecued Prawns and Scallops with Curry-apricot Sauce      Origin: American	Calalou      Origin: French Guiana
Air Fryer Egg Fried Rice      Origin: Britain	Baru Fida (Spinach Sauce with Peanuts and Beef Shank)      Origin: Guinea	Calalou aux crabes (Crab Callaloo)      Origin: Guadeloupe
Air Fryer Meat-stuffed Mushrooms      Origin: Britain	Beurre de crevettes grises (Brown shrimp butter)      Origin: France	Calalu      Origin: Benin
Akume with Ademe Sauce      Origin: Togo	BIR King Prawn Karahi      Origin: Britain	Caldo de Camaron (Prawn Soup)      Origin: Mexico
Alaskan Goose Barnacles      Origin: America	Black Fungus Okra Soup      Origin: Nigeria	Camarâes à Guineense (Guinean Prawns)      Origin: Guinea-Bissau
Alcapurrias de Jueyes (Crab-Stuffed Fritters)      Origin: Puerto Rico	Black-eyed Pea Gumbo      Origin: Cajun	Camarão na Abóbora (Prawns in Pumpkin Shells)      Origin: Mozambique
Aliter in Locusta (Another Sauce for Lobster)      Origin: Roman	Blackberry Jelly      Origin: British	Camaro Grelhado com Molho Cru (Grilled Prawns with Raw Sauce)      Origin: Angola
Almondigas (Filipino Meatball Soup with Sotanghon Noodles)      Origin: Philippines	Bladderwrack Soup      Origin: Britain	Camarones al Ajillo (Garlic Prawns)      Origin: Uruguay
Ambuyat Tempoyak      Origin: Brunei	Blue Bayou Jambalaya      Origin: Cajun	Camarones Guisados (Stewed Prawns)      Origin: Puerto Rico
Amiwo au Poulet 2 (Amiwo with Chicken)      Origin: Benin	Boeuf aux Chocolat Gabonnaise (Beef with Gabon Chocolate)      Origin: Gabon	Camarones Salteados (Sautéed Prawns)      Origin: Ecuador
Amok Trey Khmer (Cambodian Fish Amok)      Origin: Cambodia	Boogong Alamang (Fermented Krill)      Origin: Philippines	Cantonese Braised Pomelo Skin with Fish Stock      Origin: China
Anardana Jheenga (Pomegranate-flavoured Prawns)      Origin: India	Botvinia (Green Vegetable Soup with Fish)      Origin: Russia	Carabineiros (Barbecued Prawns)      Origin: Guinea-Bissau
Antiguan Curried King Prawns      Origin: Antigua	Bouillabaisse      Origin: France	Caranguejo Grelhado (Grilled Crabs)      Origin: Guinea-Bissau
Antiguan Curry Butter Prawns with Plantain Grits      Origin: Antigua	Bouillabaisse with Rouille and Croutons      Origin: France	Carapachos Rellenos (Stuffed Crab Shells)      Origin: Ecuador
Antiguan Pepper Shrimp      Origin: Antigua	Bouillon d'awara (Awara Broth)      Origin: French Guiana	Cardinal Sauce      Origin: British
Antipasto di Funghi e Gamberetti (Mushroom and Prawn Antipasto)      Origin: Italy	Bouillon de Crabes (Swimmer Crab Bouillon)      Origin: Mauritius	Cari Langoustes (Lobster Curry)      Origin: Reunion
Apelsin och timjansfisk (Orange and Thyme Fish)      Origin: Sweden	Bouillon de Petits Crabes (Stew of Small Crabs)      Origin: Mauritius	Caril de Camarão (Prawn Curry)      Origin: Mozambique
Apelsinfisk (Fish with Orange)      Origin: Sweden	Braaied Balti Prawn Parcels with Spinach Rice      Origin: South Africa	Caril de Camarão (Portuguese Prawn Curry)      Origin: Portugal
Arroz com Camarão (Rice with Prawns)      Origin: Brazil	Braaied Giant Wild Prawns with Peanuts and Coconut      Origin: South Africa	Caril de Caranguejo (Crab Curry)      Origin: Mozambique
Arroz con Camarón (Rice with Prawns)      Origin: Ecuador	Braised Egg Dumplings in Chilli Broth      Origin: China	Causa Croquettes      Origin: Peru
Aruba Sambal Tomat (Tomato Sambal)      Origin: Aruba	Brown Shrimp Soup with Crisp Sesame Croûtons      Origin: British	Cayman Callaloo Soup      Origin: Cayman Islands
Asaro II (Yam Porridge)      Origin: Nigeria	Bulgur Wan Pot      Origin: Sierra Leone	Cayman Coconut Prawn Curry      Origin: Cayman Islands
Asparagus and Crab Strata      Origin: Britain	Burmese Curry Paste      Origin: Myanmar	Cayman Fish Rundown      Origin: Cayman Islands
Ayam Begana (Malaysian Chilli Paste)      Origin: Malaysia	Burrida Ligure (Genoese Fish Stew)      Origin: Italy	Cazuela de Mariscos Chilena (Chilean Seafood Cazuela)      Origin: Chile
Ayam Panggang      Origin: Christmas Island	Buttered Crab      Origin: England	Cazuela Fiestera (Festival Casserole)      Origin: Ecuador
Ayimonlou et N'gbagba (Togolese Rice and Beans with N'gbagba)      Origin: Togo	Cabbage Egusi Soup      Origin: Ghana
Bahamian Crab and Rice      Origin: Saint Barthelemy	Cabbage Kootu (Cabbage in Coconut Milk Gravy)      Origin: Malaysia

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