#anostraca

[herpsandbirds]

Vernal Fairy Shrimp (Eubranchipus vernalis), family Chirocephalidae, order Anostraca, NE US

note the egg sacs, full of eggs.

photographs by Twan Leenders

[dailybugfacts]

Hello! My mom is newly obsessed with fairy shrimp; any cool facts about them?

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TODAY'S FACT IS

Did you know that the Holman Fairy Shrimp (Eubranchipus holmanii) is a found in clean, freshwater vernal pools in eastern Canada and the US? While it was officially described in 1879, records of it were sparse and inconclusive. A lifespan of 70 days doesn't help with this. The eggs of this species are drought resistant and laid in the substrate of the shallow pool and will hatch the next season it's sustainable.

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photo by Evan Feusi

[uncharismatic-fauna]

Uncharismatic Fact of the Day

Shrimp in the desert? It's more likely than you think! In 2020 scientists discovered a new species of fairy shrimp, dubbed Phallocryptus fahimii, living in a seasonal lake in the Lut Desert in Iran. Water temperatures can easily reach 87 °F (31 °C) and the lake is prone to drying in the summer. To avoid extinction, these fairy shrimp will lay eggs which can remain dormant in the sand for over ten years, hatching only when the rains return and refill the lake.

(Image: A scientific specimin of Phallocryptus fahimii by Milan Pallmann)

[fatchance]

I found a muddy puddle on my path during a recent walk. We had several rainy back-to-back tropical storms in October, but I was still surprised to find standing water, and more surprised to find a small population of fairy shrimp there.

Fairy shrimp are members of an ancient order of aquatic arthropods, the Anostraca. Their most impressive feature is their ability to produce cyst-like eggs that can endure long periods of dormancy and desiccation. When their ephemeral puddle dries up the eggs can remain in a state called diapause, sometimes for years, and emerge and thrive when sufficient water is next available. It's a very clever adaptation for desert life.

The puddle I found is in a low spot, about 3 meters long, that has been lengthened and deepened by ATV and motorbike traffic. The bottom shows numerous gouges and tire tracks, so someone must be getting a thrill from a muddy splash. I think it is ironic that the instrument of the puddle’s creation is also the agent of its destruction. I wonder how much the ATVs disrupt this tiny aquatic ecosystem. What other creatures could call it home without the disturbance, and in what numbers? 

I don't have means to provide a better identification, but I think this is a red-tailed fairy shrimp in the genus Streptocephalus. It is missing one of its bright red cercopods, which serve as a kind of rudder. Seen in Garden Canyon Park, Sierra Vista, Arizona.

[every-day-creechur]

Chirocephalus shadini

A species of fairy shrimp from western Russia and Ukraine.

image by Павлик Лисицын

[sandpaperoctopi]

have shrimp

[uncharismatic-fauna]

Uncharismatic Fact of the Day

Brine shrimp don't monkey around! When members of the genus Artemia encounter extreme conditions such as low oxygen or high salinity, females may lay eggs that are metabolically inactive. These eggs, also known as cysts, may remain in stasis for up to two years, and withstand temperatures as low as −190 °C (−310 °F)! This trait makes brine shrimp a popular commodity for the pet trade, where they are sold as 'sea monkeys'.

(Image: A female (left) and male(right) brine shrimp couple (Artemia salina) by Hans Hillewaert via Wikimedia Commons)

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[patapata]

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