-acea

Also ‑acean.

Groups of animals.

The neuter plural of the Latin ending ‑aceus, belonging to, or of the nature of.

Terms in ‑acea are systematic names of animal groups, mostly orders but also classes and a few superfamilies. Examples include Crustacea, a class of mostly marine arthropods that includes lobsters, shrimps, crabs, and barnacles; Cetacea, the order that includes the whales, dolphins, and porpoises; and Cumacea (Greek kuma, billow or wave), the order containing the tadpole shrimps.

Names in ‑acean either indicate individual members of these groups or adjectives relating to them. The most common examples are cetacean and crustacean; another is larvacean for a member of the Larvacea, a class of minute transparent planktonic animals related to the sea squirts. See also ‑ae and ‑ean.