Brine shrimp

The brine shrimp obtained its name because of the brinyor saltywater in which it lives. Brine shrimp may be found in salt lakes throughout the world.

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Crustacea

Class: Branchiopoda

Order: Anostraca

Family: Artemiidae

Genus: Artemia

Species: Various (See below)

The brine shrimp are crustaceans in the genus Artemia and comprise twelve species. They can be found worldwide in salt lakes and ponds, like the Great Salt Lake in Utah. Unlike most branchiopods, the brine shrimp swims upside down.

The brine shrimp generally grows to be about 1/2 inch (1 1/2 centimeters) long. Its long trunkor bodyis divided into more than 20 segments. Like other fairy shrimp, the brine shrimp does not have a carapaceor shellprotecting its body. Members of the order of fairy shrimp are the only members of the class branchiopoda, which do not have carapaces. The brine shrimp has many tiny, jointed, and then feathery, leg-like appendages that help it to swim. At its head, the brine shrimp has a pair of mandible and maxilla jaw structures, two round, black, beady eyes, and a pair of segmented antennae.

Like other branchiopods, the brine shrimp breathes through its feet. This activity is what gives this class the name branchiopods, or gill-legs. The Latin word branchio means to breathe, and poda means legs. The brine shrimp has tiny gill plates along its feet which serve as respiratory organs.

The brine shrimp feeds by filtering food through the water and into its mouth groove. It does this by beating its trunk appendages in a rhythmic pattern to gather tiny particles of green algae from the water. Once this algae is inside the brine shrimp's body the digestive process turns the green algae a reddish-brown color. Since the brine shrimp is otherwise clear, this reddish-brown coloring directly affects the brine shrimp. In places which are highly populated by brine shrimp, such as the Great Salt Lake, entire areas of the lake may appear reddish-brown because of the brine shrimp.

Brine shrimp may reproduce either sexually or asexually. Sexual reproduction involves both a male and female brine shrimp, while asexual reproduction involves only a female brine shrimp. Asexual reproduction in the brine shrimp is call parthenogenesis. Parthenogenesis means the development of an egg without fertilization. In this way, many generations of female brine shrimp are able to reproduce without the presence of any males. During the incubation period, or growth period for the egg, the female brine shrimp carries her eggs in a pouch along the side of her body. Eventually she releases these eggs into the water, where they hatch and mature in adult brine shrimp.

Since the brine shrimp is able to survive in extremely salty waters, it is safe from many predators which can not handle the salt content of the water. However, in spite of this creature's safety from other fish and aquatic, or water-living, creatures, it is not safe from humans. Brine shrimp and brine shrimp eggs are both used by humans as fish food for aquariums.

The life span of the brine shrimp is unknown.

There are at least 20 species of brine shrimp. Some known species include:

• Artemia franciscana
• Artemia gracilis
• Artemia monica
• Artemia parartemia
• Artemia parthenogenetica
• Artemia persimilis
• Artemia pollicaris
• Artemia salina
• Artemia sinica
• Artemia tibetiana
• Artemia tunesiana
• Artemia urmiana

Bibliography

Asem, Alireza, et al. “An overview on the nomenclatural and phylogenetic problems of native Asian brine shrimps of the genus Artemia Leach, 1819 (Crustacea, Anostraca).” ZooKeys, vol. 902, 13 Oct. 2020, pp. 1–15. doi:10.3897/zookeys.902.34593. Accessed 30 Mar. 2024.

“Brine Shrimp.” Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, wildlife.utah.gov/gslep/wildlife/brine-shrimp.html. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Emslie, Sara. “Artemia Salina.” Animal Diversity Web, animaldiversity.org/accounts/Artemia‗salina/. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.