Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 20, 2026

Branchinecta

Branchinecta is a genus of fairy shrimp in family Branchinectidae. It includes around 50 species, found on all continents except Australia. Branchinecta gigas, the giant fairy shrimp, is the largest species in the order, with a length of up to 10 centimetres (4 in), and Branchinecta brushi lives at the highest altitude of any crustacean, at 5,930 metres (19,460 ft), a record it shares with the copepod Boeckella palustris. A new genus, Archaebranchinecta was established in 2011 for two species previously placed in Branchinecta.

Last revised
Jul 20, 2026
Read time
≈ 3 min
Length
717 w
Citations
16
Source
Wikipedia ↗
Branchinecta
Branchinecta packardi
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Clade: Pancrustacea
Class: Branchiopoda
Order: Anostraca
Family: Branchinectidae
Genus: Branchinecta
Verrill, 1869 1
Species

See text

Branchinecta is a genus of fairy shrimp in family Branchinectidae. It includes around 50 species,12 found on all continents except Australia.2 Branchinecta gigas, the giant fairy shrimp, is the largest species in the order, with a length of up to 10 centimetres (4 in),3 and Branchinecta brushi lives at the highest altitude of any crustacean, at 5,930 metres (19,460 ft), a record it shares with the copepod Boeckella palustris.4 A new genus, Archaebranchinecta was established in 2011 for two species previously placed in Branchinecta.5

Species

  • Branchinecta achalensis Cesar, 1985
  • Branchinecta belki Maeda-Martínez, Obregón-Barboza & Dumont, 1992 CR6
  • Branchinecta brushi Hegna & Lazo-Wasem, 20104
  • Branchinecta campestris Lynch, 1960 – pocket-pouch fairy shrimp
  • Branchinecta coloradensis Packard, 1874 – Colorado fairy shrimp
  • Branchinecta constricta Rogers, 2006
  • Branchinecta conservatio Eng, Belk & Eriksen, 1990 EN7 – conservancy fairy shrimp
  • Branchinecta cornigera Lynch, 1958 – horned fairy shrimp
  • Branchinecta dissimilis Lynch, 1972 – Great Basin fairy shrimp
  • Branchinecta ferox (M. Milne-Edwards, 1840)
  • Branchinecta gaini Daday, 1910
  • Branchinecta gigas Lynch, 1937 LC8 – giant fairy shrimp
  • Branchinecta granulosa Daday, 1902
  • Branchinecta hiberna Rogers & Fugate, 2001 – winter fairy shrimp
  • Branchinecta iheringi Lilljeborg, 1889
  • Branchinecta kaibabensis Belk & Fugate, 2000 – Kaibab fairy shrimp
  • Branchinecta lateralis Rogers, 2006
  • Branchinecta leonensis Cesar, 1985
  • Branchinecta lindahli Packard, 1883 – versatile fairy shrimp
  • Branchinecta longiantenna Eng, Belk & Eriksen, 1990 EN9 – longhorn fairy shrimp
  • Branchinecta lynchi Eng, Belk & Eriksen, 1990 VU10 – vernal pool fairy shrimp
  • Branchinecta lutulenta Rogers and Hill, 2013 - muddy fairy shrimp
  • Branchinecta mackini Dexter, 1956 – alkali fairy shrimp
  • Branchinecta mediospina Rogers, Dasis & Murrow, 201111
  • Branchinecta mesovallensis Belk & Fugate, 2000 – mid-valley fairy shrimp
  • Branchinecta mexicana Maeda-Martínez, Obregón-Barboza & Dumont, 1992 CR12
  • Branchinecta minuta Smirnov, 1948
  • Branchinecta oriena Belk & Rogers, 2002
  • Branchinecta orientalis G. O. Sars, 1901
  • Branchinecta oterosanvicentei Obregón-Barboza, et al., 2002
  • Branchinecta packardi Pearse, 1912 – Packard fairy shrimp
  • Branchinecta paludosa (O. F. Müller, 1788) – circumpolar fairy shrimp
  • Branchinecta palustris Birabén, 1946
  • Branchinecta papillosa Birabén, 1946
  • Branchinecta potassa Belk, 1979 – Nebraska fairy shrimp
  • Branchinecta prima Cohen, 1983
  • Branchinecta raptor Rogers, Quinney, Weaver, and Olesen 2006
  • Branchinecta readingi Belk, 2000 – Reading fairy shrimp
  • Branchinecta rocaensis Cohen, 1982
  • Branchinecta sandiegonensis Fugate, 1993 EN13 – San Diego fairy shrimp
  • Branchinecta serrata Rogers, 2006
  • Branchinecta somuncurensis Cohen, 1983
  • Branchinecta tarensis Birabén, 1946
  • Branchinecta tolli (G. O. Sars, 1897)
  • Branchinecta valchetana Cohen, 1981
  • Branchinecta vuriloche Cohen, 1985
References

References

  1. "Branchinecta Verrill, 1869". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved May 21, 2011.
  2. D. Christopher Rogers (2006). "Three new species of Branchinecta (Crustacea: Branchiopoda: Anostraca) from the Nearctic" (PDF). Zootaxa. 1126: 35–51. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.1126.1.3.
  3. Geoffrey Fryer (1968). "Branchinecta gigas Lynch, a non-filter-feeding raptatory anostracan, with notes on the feeding habits of certain other anostracans". Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London. 177 (1): 19–34. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8312.1966.tb00948.x.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  4. Thomas A. Hegna & Eric A. Lazo-Wasem (2010). "Branchinecta brushi n. sp. (Branchiopoda: Anostraca: Branchinectidae) from a volcanic crater in northern Chile (Antofagasta Province): a new altitude record for crustaceans". Journal of Crustacean Biology. 30 (3): 445–464. doi:10.1651/09-3236.1.
  5. D. Christopher Rogers & Jorge S. Coronel (2011). "A redescription of Branchinecta pollicifera Harding, 1940, and its placement in a new genus (Branchiopoda: Anostraca: Branchinectidae)". Journal of Crustacean Biology. 31 (4): 717–724. doi:10.1651/10-3449.1.
  6. Baillie, J. (2000). "Branchinecta belki". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2000 e.T3043A9549316. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2000.RLTS.T3043A9549316.en.
  7. Inland Water Crustacean Specialist Group (1996). "Branchinecta conservatio". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 1996 e.T3045A9551064. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.1996.RLTS.T3045A9551064.en.
  8. Inland Water Crustacean Specialist Group (1996). "Branchinecta gigas". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 1996 e.T3041A9545649. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.1996.RLTS.T3041A9545649.en.
  9. Inland Water Crustacean Specialist Group (1996). "Branchinecta longiantenna". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 1996 e.T3046A9551833. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.1996.RLTS.T3046A9551833.en.
  10. Inland Water Crustacean Specialist Group (1996). "Branchinecta lynchi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 1996 e.T3047A9552141. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.1996.RLTS.T3047A9552141.en.
  11. D. Christopher Rogers; Don Dasis & Daniel G. Murrow (2011). "A new species of Branchinecta (Crustacea: Anostraca) with comments on the large branchiopod crustaceans of Kansas" (PDF excerpt). Zootaxa. 2749: 62–68. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.2749.1.5.
  12. Maeda-Martinez, A.M. (1996). "Branchinecta mexicana". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 1996 e.T3044A9550338. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.1996.RLTS.T3044A9550338.en.
  13. Inland Water Crustacean Specialist Group (1996). "Branchinecta sandiegonensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 1996 e.T3048A9545435. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.1996.RLTS.T3048A9545435.en.
External links