What is "leptostraca"

Leptostraca \Lep*tos"tra*ca\ (l[e^]p*t[o^]s"tr[.a]*k[.a]), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. lepto`s thin, slender + 'o`strakon shell of a testacean.] (Zo["o]l.) An order of Crustacea, including Nebalia and allied forms.

Leptostraca (from the Greek words for thin and shell) is an order of small, marine crustaceans. Its members, including the well-studied Nebalia, occur throughout the world's oceans and are usually considered to be filter-feeders. It is the only extant order in the subclass Phyllocarida. They are believed to represent the most primitive members of their class, the Malacostraca, and first appear in the fossil record during the Cambrian period.