ES / EN
ES / EN
Artemia, Brine shrimp

Artemia, Brine shrimp
(Artemia Salina)

Commonly known as "brine shrimp". There are 11 different species of Artemia, among them we highlight Artemia salina, which belongs to the Subfilum Crustacea. They are brachiopods that are characterized by. They have great sexual dimorphism (sexual differentiation), the females are larger and the males develop antennae in muscular clamps.

They inhabit brackish waters, generally ephemeral ponds such as salt ponds.

They reproduce ovoviviparously under stressful conditions (excessive salinity, disturbances, high or low temperatures...) but under normal conditions the eggs develop in the mother and hatch alive (viviparous reproduction).

Artemia feed while swimming through the movement of their appendages. It feeds on detritus, microalgae and halophilic bacteria (found in saline environments). It feeds throughout the day, but more intensely at dusk and dawn.

It has a large amount of hemoglobin to be able to absorb oxygen, since in environments with high salinity there is little dissolved oxygen.

Flamingos are natural predators of Artemia. The pink color of flamingos comes from canthaxanthin, a carotenoid pigment in Artemia.