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'''''Niphargus''''' is by far the largest [[genus]] of its [[family (biology)|family]], the [[Niphargidae]], and the largest of all [[freshwater]] [[amphipod]] genera.<ref name="Niphargus">{{cite web |url=http://niphargus.info/ |title=''Niphargus'' |author=Cene Fišer, Peter Trontelj and Boris Sket |access-date=June 17, 2011}}</ref>
 
Usually, these animals inhabit [[cave]]s or [[groundwater]]. They occur in western [[Eurasia]], in regions that were not covered by the [[Pleistocene]] [[ice sheet]]s. They are found throughout most of Europe with the notable exception of the [[Nordic countries|Nordics]] and they are also largely missing from [[Iberian Peninsula|Iberia]]. The genus extends into Asia as far as the [[Arabian Peninsula]] and [[Iran]].<ref name=White2012>{{cite book| editor1=White, W.B. | editor2= D.C. Culver | title=Encyclopedia of Caves | year=2012 | edition=2 | pages=233, 556–559 | isbn=978-0-12-383832-2 }}</ref> In their main range &ndash; the central [[Mediterranean]] region through [[Central Europe|Central]] and [[Eastern Europe]] to the [[Ukraine]] &ndash; they are among the most significant organisms inhabiting the groundwater.<ref name="Niphargus"/> In the [[Dinaric Alps]] alone there are at least 45 species.<ref name=White2012/> There are also six species in the British Isles (the northernmost ''Niphargus''): ''N. aquilex'', ''N. fontanus'', ''N. glenniei'' and ''N. kochianus'' of [[Great Britain]], and ''N. irlandicus'' and ''N. wexfordensis'' of [[Ireland]].<ref>{{cite web| title=British Cave shrimp | url=https://www.buglife.org.uk/bugs-and-habitats/british-cave-shrimp | year=2018 | publisher=buglife.com | access-date=9 February 2018 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author1=Hänfling|first=Bernd|last2=Douterelo-Soler|first2=Isabel|last3=Knight|first3=Lee|last4=Proudlove|first4=Graham|year=2008|title=Molecular studies on the ''Niphargus kochianus'' group (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Niphargidae) in Great Britain and Ireland|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/230703085|journal=[[Cave and Karst Science]]|volume=35|issue=1|pages=35–40|issn=1356-191X|via=[[ResearchGate]]}}</ref> Although the individual species often have very small ranges and only live at a narrow water temperature range, the genus includes both species of cold and relatively warm places, taken to the extreme in ''N. thermalis'' from [[thermal water]]s.<ref name=White2012/>
 
''Niphargus'' are extremely variable in their appearance (more so than even some amphipod families),<ref name=White2012/> but are whitish and completely lack eyes.<ref name=NiphargusInfo>{{cite web| editor1=Luštrik, R. | editor2= M. Turjak | title=Niphargus – Homepage | url=http://niphargus.info | year=2018 | publisher=niphargus.info | access-date=8 February 2018 }}</ref> They are fairly small, ranging from about {{convert|2|mm|in|abbr=on|2}} in length in the smallest species to about {{convert|35|mm|in|abbr=on}} in the largest.<ref name=White2012/> At least some of the species are highly resistant to starvation and able to survive for more than 200 days without food.<ref name=White2012/>
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