Fairy shrimp
Anostraca · Aquatic life
Whole animal · Photo: dr.scott.mills / CC BY-SA
Also called Branchinecta, Anostracans, Sea monkeys (relatives)
How to identify Fairy shrimp
- Slender, see through shrimp from about 1/2 to 1 1/2 inches
- Swim upside down with a steady wave of many leaflike legs
- Two stalked eyes and a forked tail
- Often greenish, bluish, orange or red tinted; females carry a pouch of eggs
Similar species
Scuds swim on their sides and have a hard, curved body. Tadpole shrimp have a broad shield over the front. Opossum shrimp live in deep, cold lakes.
Profile
| Season | Appear soon after pools fill in late winter and spring; gone once the pool dries or warms. |
|---|---|
| Starts | Hatch from resting eggs in cold, fresh snowmelt or rain water |
| Depth | Open water of shallow pools |
| How it spreads or reproduces | Drought resistant eggs carried by wind, birds and animals |
| Habitat | Seasonal pools, playas, snowmelt ponds, stock ponds that dry up and rock pools that have no fish. |
Why it matters in a lake
A sign of a healthy seasonal wetland and an important food for migrating ducks and shorebirds. They cannot survive where there are fish.
Where it is found
- Idaho: Occasional
- Oregon: Occasional
- Wyoming: Occasional
Classification
| Kingdom | Animalia |
|---|---|
| Phylum | Arthropoda |
| Class | Branchiopoda |
| Order | Anostraca |
| Scientific name | Anostraca |
Scuds (Hyalella)
Signal crayfish
Scuds (Gammarus)
Aquatic sow bugs
Virile crayfish
Red swamp crayfish
Rusty crayfish
Tadpole shrimp
Clam shrimp
Pilose crayfishNeed a hand?
Found it in your lake?
Send us a photo and we will identify it and tell you what it means for your lake.
Idaho / Wyoming (208) 501-4531Oregon (541) 280-0596