ARTEMIA SALINA - SEA MONKEYS - ANATOMY & TAXONOMY

Artemia 'Sea Monkey' Anatomy

Nauplius about 3 days old (Metanauplius)
Credit: Tabiee, Omid


Anatomy schematic of an Artemia nauplius

#	name	comments
1	naupliar eye	dark, red or black median eye; consists of 3 pigment cup ocelli; the brain surrounds the eye
2	antenna 1	also called: antennulae
3	antenna 2	primary swimming organs; equiped with swimming setae
4	mandible	the mandibles possess peripheral incisors and blunt-crowned teeth used for mechanical processing of filtered food particles; they move laterally to grind food
5	gut	digestive tract
6	labrum	used for holding food in position for mastication and swallowing
7	mouth
8	expod	part of antennae 2; equiped with chief swimming setae
9	endopod	part of antennae 2
10	endite	part of antennae 2
11	anus
12	telson	region where new body segments are produced as the nauplius matures
13	swimming setae

Fresh hatched nauplius
Credit: Artemia Reference Center Ghent University

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Here you see the head of a female Artemia, resembling about
the same view as in the anatomy schematic below
Credit: Castro, Thalía


Anatomy schematic of an Artemia female head

#	name	comment
1	naupliar eye	appears in the earliest larval instar and persists thruout life
2	antenna 1	also called: antennulae
3	compund eyes
4	antenna 2	males have much larger antennae 2 to hold the females during copulation
5	mandible	the mandibles possess peripheral incisors and blunt-crowned teeth used for mechanical processing of filtered food particles; they move laterally to grind food
6	maxillary gland	maxillary glands are used for osmoregulation (excretion of salt)
7	labrum	covers the ventral surface of the head, including the mouth; used for holding food in position for mastication and swallowing
8	gut	digestive tract
9	maxilla 2	used for food processing
10	maxilla 1	used for food processing
11	mouth & esophagus	between the mandibles; esophagus: extends dorsally from the mouth to the stomach
12	digestive cecum	plural: ceca
13	heart	long, narrow "pipe"; extends almost the whole body
14	stomach	expanded region of the gut in the middle of the head

This photo shows the head from the other side
clearly visible the usual transparency of the
Artemia body, the antennae, the eyes, the
digestive system and the maxillary glands

Female Anatomy - Brood pouch - Egg Sac

Just for completeness, here are the images that accompanied captain.at for years

nauplii	Male/female adult
Fresh hatched nauplii are about 0.25mm (0.01 inch) long.	Adult artemia can grow up to a length of 10 - 15 mm (0.4 - 0.6 inch).
Mandible ... used for food uptake Labrum ... lip-like structure covering the mouth

Taxonomy & regions of appearance

• Artemia franciscana superspecies:
  • Artemia (franciscana) franciscana Kellogg (1906) - Americas, Caribbean, Pacific islands, Australia
  • Artemia (franciscana) monica Verrill (1869) - California: Mono Lake
• Artemia gracilis Verrill (1869) - North & south America
• Artemia nyos (artificial hybrid between A. salina and ... ? ; "New York Ocean Science" laboratories) - the Sea Monkey
• Artemia parartemia
• Artemia parthenogenetica Barigozzi 1974, Bowen and Sterling 1978 - Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia
• Artemia persimilis Piccinelli and Prosdocimi (1968) - Argentina
• Artemia salina Leach (1819) - England, Spain, Italy, Lybia, Egypt - traditional aquarium life food
• Artemia salina pacifica Sars (1903)
• Artemia sinica Cai,Yaneng (1989) - Central and Eastern Asia
• Artemia sp. Pilla and Beardmore 1994 - Kazakhstan
• Artemia tibetiana (Abatzopoulos et al.1998) - Tibet
• Artemia tunesiana Bowen and Sterling 1978 synonym of A. salina
• Artemia urmiana Gunther (1900) - Iran