[1] Remipedes are 1–4 centimetres (0.4–1.6 in) long and comprise a head and an elongate trunk of up to thirty-two similar body segments.

[7] Previously regarded as 'primitive', Remipedia have since been shown to have enhanced olfactory nerve centers (a common feature for species that live in dark environments).

Because of the energy and nutrients required for swimming, molting, and to grow in size and length, it has been speculated that the larvae may have other sources of growth than its yolk; possibly symbiotic bacteria.

[11] The first species in this group to be described was Speleonectes lucayensis, discovered by Jill Yager while cave diving in Lucayan Caverns on the Grand Bahama Island in 1979 and described in a paper in the Journal of Crustacean Biology in 1981.

[12] Historical phylogeny based on morphology and physiology has placed Remipedia under Mandibulata, in the subphylum Crustacea, and distinct from Hexapoda.

[17] Oligostraca Thecostraca Copepoda Malacostraca Cephalocarida Branchiopoda Remipedia Protura Diplura Collembola Insecta Thirty extant species are recognized as of early 2022, divided among eight families and twelve genera.