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Benthic Macroinvertebrate Identification
There are so many different types of living organisms, that scientists
long ago devised a classification system (by Linnaeus
using Latin) to help keep track of how closely related they were.
This system is used to name the organisms in a systematic manner.
Let's use a mayfly (Ephemerella inermis), known to
fly-fishers as the Pale Morning Dun, as an example of this taxonomic
system.
| TAXON | LATIN NAME / Feature |
|---|---|
| Kingdom | Animalia (Animal, Plant or Fungi - this is an animal) |
| Phylum | Arthropoda (meaning "joint-legged," are invertebrates) |
| Class | Insecta (insects, 6 jointed legs, head, thorax and abdomen) |
| Order | Ephemeroptera (mayfly, ephemeral meaning short-lived) |
| Family | Ephemerellidae |
| Genus | Ephemerella |
| Species | Ephemerlla inermis |
Freshwater benthic macroinvertebrates comprise only three of the many animal phyla – Arthopoda, Annelida, and Mollusca. There is a fourth Phylum, Platyhelminthes that has the Class Turbellaria (flatworms) which we are not addressing here. Almost all of the freshwater benthic macroinvertebrates you will encounter fall within the taxnomic groups below.
| PHYLUM | Arthropoda(crustaceans, insects, spiders, and relatives) | Annelida (segmented worms) | Mollusca (mollusks) |
|---|---|---|---|
| CLASS | Malacostraca (crayfish, pill bugs, shrimp, and relatives) | Hirudinea (leeches) | Gastropoda (gastropods, slugs, and freshwater snails) |
| Insecta (see Orders below) | Oligochaeta (aquatic earthworms) | Bivalvia (bivalves, mussels and clams) | |
| ORDER | Ephemeroptera
(mayflies) Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) Plecoptera (stoneflies) Hemiptera (true bugs) Trichoptera (caddisflies) Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) Coleoptera (beetles) Megaloptera (alderflies, dobsonflies, fishflies) Neuroptera (spongillaflies) Diptera (two-winged or true flies) |
Basommatophora
(freshwater snails) Unionoida (freshwater mussels) Veneroida (asian clam) |
Each of the orders above contain many families. For instance, visit
our pages on the Trichoptera (caddisfly)
families as an example. Each family, especially the insects,
can contain dozens of genera and each genera dozens of species,
or sometimes just a few species. We can't go into all of that here,
but the links we provide wil hopefully get you started. Visit these
links from the University
of Michigan Museum of Zoology
for more information on taxonomy and systematics for Arthropods,
Annelids,
and Mollusksand more.
The links below can get you started on identifying the more common macroinvertebrates. Visit our page on common freshwater benthic macroinvertebrates to get started.