Fairy shrimp
| Anostraca Temporal range: Upper Cambrian–Recent |
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| Artemia salina | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Subphylum: | Crustacea |
| Class: | Branchiopoda |
| Subclass: |
Sarsostraca Tasch, 1969 |
| Order: |
Anostraca G. O. Sars, 1867 |
| Families | |
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Anostraca is one of the four orders of crustaceans in the class Branchiopoda; its members are also known as fairy shrimp. They are usually 6–25 mm (0.24–0.98 in) long (exceptionally up to 170 mm or 6.7 in). Most species have 20 body segments, bearing 11 pairs of leaf-like phyllopodia (swimming legs), and the body lacks a carapace. They live in vernal pools and hypersaline lakes across the world, including pools in deserts, in ice-covered mountain lakes and in Antarctica. They swim "upside-down" and feed by filtering organic particles from the water or by scraping algae from surfaces. They are an important food for many birds and fish, and are cultured and harvested for use as fish food. There are 300 species spread across 8 families.
The body of a fairy shrimp is elongated and divided into segments. The whole animal is typically 6–25 millimetres (0.24–0.98 in) long, but one species, Branchinecta gigas does not reach sexual maturity until it reaches 50 mm (2.0 in) long, and can grow to 170 mm (6.7 in) long. The exoskeleton is thin and flexible, and lacks any sign of a carapace. The body can be divided into three distinct parts (tagmata) – head, thorax and abdomen.
The head is morphologically distinct from the thorax. It bears two compound eyes on prominent stalks, and two pairs of antennae. The first pair of antennae are small, usually unsegmented, and uniramous. The second pair are long and cylindrical in females, but in males they are enlarged and specialised for holding the female during mating. In some groups, males have an additional frontal appendage.
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