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 588 recipes in total:

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

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