Brine shrimp refers to Artemia salina and about 10 other related species. They are rather small anostracans, reaching only 0.6 in (15 mm) in length. The color varies from almost hyaline and transparent to bright red. The male antenna is strongly modified, but is not sufficient to identify the species. Microcharacters are required for identification, as well as biochemical and molecular methods.

DISTRIBUTION

The original specimens of A. salina were sampled from salt works at Lymington, England, but that population has long been extinct. The genus is widespread in bodies of salt water on all continents, and was introduced to Australia in the twentieth century. (Specific distribution map not available.)

HABITAT

Natural or artificial salt lakes and salinas (saltwater marshes) worldwide.

BEHAVIOR

The behavior of this species is similar to that of Sudanese fairy shrimp.

FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET

Artemia is a small-particle filter feeder. It can be grown on algae, yeasts, and a wide variety of micronized inert particles.

REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY

Like all fairy shrimps, artemia develops rapidly. The time between the hatching of the nauplius larva and maturation is slightly longer than a week. Artemia is also noted for its reproductive flexibility: under favorable conditions, it produces clutches of eggs at close intervals. Some species and/or strains may reproduce parthenogenetically, while others are viviparous. Artemia is the only known genus of fairy shrimp that shows this degree of versatility in reproductive tactics.

CONSERVATION STATUS

Not listed by the IUCN. The typical locality of the true brine shrimp has long disappeared; consequently, there is some uncertainty as to what constitutes the true habitat of Artemia salina, although it is likely geographically widespread. Artemia monica (Verrill, 1869) is one member of restricted occurrence. This member of the genus is limited to Mono Lake in California, where measures have been taken to prevent wide fluctuations in the salinity of the lake.

SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS

It has long been known that the presence of Artemia spp. (and of Parartemia as well) improves salt production in brine pools. That principle is still widely applied in salt works. In addition, an industry of Artemia cyst harvesting has developed around large salt lakes (Great Salt Lake in Utah, Kara Bogaz Gol in the Caspian basin, and others), where these cysts float in large masses on the surface of the water. The cysts can be collected in nets or scooped up from the lake shores where they accumulate. These cysts are later hatched to feed fish larvae, either in industrial aquaculture or by aquarium hobbyists. There are also a few instances of direct human consumption of brine shrimp, the best-known example being that of the Dawada (worm eaters) tribes in the Fezzan desert of Libya.

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: brine shrimp

(click to enlarge)
Brine shrimp (Artemia salina) (credit: Douglas P. Wilson)

Any of several small crustaceans (genus Artemia) inhabiting brine pools and other highly salty inland waters throughout the world. A. salina, which occurs in vast numbers in Great Salt Lake, Utah, is commercially important. Young brine shrimp hatched there from dried eggs are used widely as food for fish and other small animals in aquariums. Up to 0.6 in. (15 mm) long, the brine shrimp's body has a distinguishable head and a slender abdomen. It normally swims upside down, and it feeds primarily on green algae, which it filters from the water with its legs.

For more information on brine shrimp, visit Britannica.com.

Columbia Encyclopedia: brine shrimp,

common name for a primitive crustacean that seldom reaches more than ¹/₂ in. (1.3 cm) in length and is commonly used for fish food in aquariums. Brine shrimp, which are not closely related to true shrimp, can be found almost everywhere in the world in inland saltwaters, although they are completely absent from oceans. They can live in water having several times the salinity of seawater, but they can also tolerate water having only one tenth the marine salt concentration. Brine shrimp usually occur in huge numbers and can be seen in vast windblown lines in the Great Salt Lake. Their absence from the sea has been explained by their vulnerability to attack by predators and the absence of the latter in their inland saline habitat. Although brine shrimp are considered to be members of a single genus, Artemis, and possibly a single species, there are several varieties. Generally, they have stalked, compound eyes and tapered bodies with a trunk that bears 11 pairs of leaflike legs. Females have a brood pouch from which active young are liberated under favorable conditions. Otherwise eggs are laid parthenogenetically (unfertilized by sperm) or fertilized and can either hatch immediately or be dried and remain viable for many years. These eggs are remarkably resistant to adverse environmental conditions, which is why they can be hatched so easily in saltwater and used for fish food; adult brine shrimp are also used as food in aquariums and are generally sold frozen. Brine shrimp are classified in the phylum Arthropoda, subphylum Crustacea, class Branchiopoda, order Anostraca.

Wikipedia: brine shrimp

For non-zoological information on this animal as a pet, see Sea-Monkey.

Brine shrimp

Image:Artemia salina 2.png

Artemia salina

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Crustacea
Class:	Branchiopoda
Order:	Anostraca
Family:	Artemiidae Grochowski, 1896
Genus:	Artemia Leach, 1819

Species

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

Brine shrimp are species of aquatic crustaceans of the genus Artemia, the only genus in the family Artemiidae of the order Anostraca (fairy shrimp, not closely related to true shrimp). Brine Shrimp have existed since the Triassic period of the Earth's existence, and have evolved little since. They are found worldwide in saltwater, though not in oceans. Artemia is a well known genus as one variety, sometimes identified as a new species, Artemia nyos, or otherwise as simply a cultivated subspecies of Artemia salina, is sold as novelty gifts, most commonly under the marketing name Sea-Monkeys.

Artemia were first discovered in Lymington, England, in 1755. There are mixed views on whether all brine shrimp are part of one species or whether the varieties that have been identified are properly classified as separate species ^{[citation needed]}.

Brine shrimp eggs are metabolically inactive and can remain in total stasis for several years while in a dry, oxygen-free environment, even at temperatures below freezing. This characteristic is called cryptobiosis meaning "hidden life" (also called diapause). Once placed in water, the cyst-like eggs hatch within a few hours, and will grow to a mature length of around one cm on average. Brine shrimp have a biological life cycle of one year. This short life span, and other characteristics such as their ability to remain dormant for long periods, have made them invaluable in scientific research, including space experiments.

Brine shrimp can tolerate varying levels of salinity, and a common biology experiment in school is to investigate the effect of salinity levels on the growth of these creatures. They have a rudimentary nervous/spinal system, which leads researchers to believe that they may be used in experiments without concern for animal ethics.

The nutritional properties of newly hatched brine shrimp make them particularly suitable to be sold as aquarium food as they are high in lipids and unsaturated fatty acids (but low in calcium). These nutritional benefits are likely to be one reason that brine shrimp are found only in highly salinated waters, with reasonable temperatures, as these areas are uninhabitable for potential predators.

The nauplii, or larvae, of brine shrimp are less than 0.5mm when they first hatch. They eat micro-algae, but will also eat yeast, wheat flour, soybean powder, or egg yolk ^[1].

Artemia monica, the variety commonly known as Mono Lake brine shrimp, are found only in Mono Lake, Mono County, California. In 1987, Dr. Dennis D. Murphy from Stanford University petitioned the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to add Artemia monica to the endangered species list under the Endangered Species Act 1973. Despite there being trillions of these creatures in Mono Lake, it was felt that rising levels of salinity and sodium hydroxide concentration of the lake would endanger them because of the increase in pH. However, the US Fish and Wildlife Service reported in the Federal Register on 7 September 1995 that this brine shrimp did not warrant listing after the threat to the lake was removed following a revised policy by the California State Water Resources Control Board ^[2].

References

^ Artemia (brine shrimp) FAQ 1.1. Portland State University (1995-06-13).
^ United States Fish and Wildlife Service (1995). Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; 12-Month Finding for a Petition to List the Mono Lake Brine Shrimp as Endangered. Federal Register 60 (173): 46571–46572.

"Genus Artemia", The Taxonomicon & Systema Naturae 2000 (listings of taxonomy and scientific classification)
"Artemia franciscana" Invertebrate Anatomy Online
"Brine Shrimp and Ecology of Great Salt Lake", United States Geological Survey

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Copyrights:

		Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more
		Animal Encyclopedia. Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia. Copyright © 2005 by The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more
		Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved. Read more
		Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/ Read more
		Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Brine shrimp". Read more

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