Brine shrimps

Code OD029999

Anostracan crustaceans. The Anostraca are shrimp-like crustaceans with a distinct head and an elongate body without any form of carapace. The thoracic appendages are foliose (plate-like or leaf-like) and act as gills as well as swimming organs. All Australian species have an 11-segmented thorax and an eight-segmented abdomen. Members of this order typically swim ventral side uppermost.

Males of Branchipodidae can be readily identified to family by the shape of the penes (rigid and with short spines). The antennae are furcate and pointed. Females can be distinguished by a combination of two more-difficult characters, (i) the labrum carries a a spine (unlike in Artemiidae), and (ii) the telson is poorly developed and not distinct from the final abdominal segment (unlike in Thamnocephalidae).

There is one Australian genus, Parartemia (endemic), with eight described species. Parartemia occur in inland salt waters and may tolerate salinities not far short of saturation.

Reference:

Williams, W.D. (1980) Australian Freshwater Life: The Invertebrates of Australian Inland Waters. The Macmillan Company of Australia, Melbourne.