Fairy shrimps

Code OD039999

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 Thamnocephalidae can be readily identified to family by the penes (which are soft and flexible). The male antennae are furcate and pointed. In several species the anterior head projects forward as a frontal appendage between the arms of the antennae. Females can be distinguished principally by the telson, which is well developed and quite distinct from the final abdominal segment (unlike in Artemiidae or Branchipodidae).

There is one Australian genus, Branchinella (endemic), with nineteen described species. Branchinella occur in temporary fresh waters such as pools, ditches, rock-holes and ponds. As with all Anostraca and most Branchiopoda, the eggs are light, resistant to dessication, and widely distributed by wind.

Reference:

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