Sudanese fairy shrimp

Taxobox
name = Freshwater fairy shrimp


status = LC
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Arthropoda
subphylum = Crustacea
classis = Branchiopoda
ordo = Anostraca
familia = Streptocephalidae
genus = "Streptocephalus"
species = "S. proboscideus"
binomial = "Streptocephalus proboscideus"
binomial_authority = Frauenfeld, 1873

The Sudanese fairy shrimp ("Streptocephalus proboscideus") is a species of fairy shrimp found in eastern Africa.

Characteristics

"S. proboscideus" may reach 3 cm in length. The colouring varies from translucent to almost black. The Latin name, "Streptocephalus proboscideus", means "twisted head with a proboscis", referring to a median appendage on the head between the antennae. The male antennae are the main identification feature of this species.

It is an active swimmer, requiring a water temperature of 25°C or higher. This fairy shrimp may filter up to 2 litres of water in 24 hours. "S. proboscideus" may live as long as 9 months under laboratory conditions.

Ecology

The Sudanese fairy shrimp is found in shallow rain pools where it may form huge swarms. Its eggs may lie dormant in dry mud for several years. This fairy shrimp is an omnivore that can filter particles as small as yeast cells or as large as 0.2 mm. It may also eat nauplii of its own species or other species indiscriminately.

Life cycle

An "S. proboscideus" nauplius turns into a mature individual in less than two weeks. The female produces clutches of 100-300 eggs. An average female may produce 35-40 such clutches in her lifetime. She must be fertilised after each clutch.

References

Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia. Volume 2 — Protostomes.