The conservancy fairy shrimp, Branchinecta conservatio, is a small crustacean in the family Branchinectidae. It ranges in size from about 1.25 centimetres (0.49 in) to 2.5 centimetres (0.98 in) long. Fairy shrimp are aquatic species in the order Anostraca. They have delicate elongate bodies, large stalked compound eyes, no carapaces, and eleven pairs of swimming legs. They glide gracefully upside down, swimming by beating their legs in a complex, wavelike movement that passes from front to back. Fairy shrimp feed on algae, bacteria, protozoa, rotifers and detritus. This species is endemic to California in the United States.
Read more about Conservancy Fairy Shrimp: Ecology, Distribution, Threats, Additional Information and References
Famous quotes containing the words fairy and/or shrimp:
“Fierce war and faithful love,
And truth severe, by fairy fiction dressed.”
—Thomas Gray (1716–1771)
“To tell you the truth, I’m relieved that the Van Ripers are not coming. He’s telling the same jokes he told twenty years ago and she dyes her hair. I think it’s a shrimp pink now.”
—Adele Comandini, and Edward Sutherland. Michael O’Brien (Charles Winninger)