''Branchinella'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

crustacean Crustaceans (from Latin meaning: "those with shells" or "crusted ones") are invertebrate animals that constitute one group of arthropods that are traditionally a part of the subphylum Crustacea (), a large, diverse group of mainly aquatic arthrop ...

s in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Thamnocephalidae. This

fairy shrimp Anostraca is one of the four orders of crustaceans in the class Branchiopoda; its members are referred to as fairy shrimp. They live in vernal pools and hypersaline lakes across the world, and they have even been found in deserts, ice-covered mou ...

genus is found across many parts of the world, but especially western

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost region of Africa. No definition is agreed upon, but some groupings include the United Nations geoscheme for Africa, United Nations geoscheme, the intergovernmental Southern African Development Community, and ...

. Several

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

have small ranges and are threatened by

habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

. For example, '' B. latzi'' is only known from south

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

and southwest

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, but it has been

extirpated Local extinction, also extirpation, is the termination of a species (or other taxon) in a chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere. Local extinctions are contrasted with global extinctions. Local extinctions mark a chan ...

from the

Uluru Uluru (; ), also known as Ayers Rock ( ) and officially gazetted as UluruAyers Rock, is a large sandstone monolith. It outcrop, crops out near the centre of Australia in the southern part of the Northern Territory, south-west of Alice Spri ...

region due to

pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause harm. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the component ...

from urine and faeces of tourists. The species ''Branchinella kugenumaensis'' are known as "Honen shrimp" (ホウネンエビ) in Japan, and are commonly found in rice fields during the early summer.

Selected species

''Branchinella'' includes the following species: * '' Branchinella acacioidea'' Belk & Sissom, 1992 * '' Branchinella affinis'' Linder, 1941 * '' Branchinella alachua'' Dexter, 1953 * '' Branchinella apophysata'' Linder, 1941 * '' Branchinella arborea'' Geddes, 1981 * '' Branchinella australiensis'' (Richters, 1876) * '' Branchinella basispina'' Geddes, 1981 * '' Branchinella buchananensis'' Geddes, 1981 * '' Branchinella chudeaui'' (Daday, 1910) * '' Branchinella compacta'' Linder, 1941 * '' Branchinella complexidigitata'' Timms, 2003 * '' Branchinella denticulata'' Linder, 1941 * '' Branchinella dubia'' (Schwartz, 1917) * '' Branchinella frondosa'' Henry, 1924 * '' Branchinella halsei'' Timms, 2003 * '' Branchinella hardingi'' (Qadri & Baqai, 1956) * '' Branchinella hattahensis'' Geddes, 1981 * '' Branchinella kadjikadji'' Timms, 2003 * '' Branchinella kugenumaensis'' (Ishikawa, 1895) * '' Branchinella latzi'' Geddes, 1981 * '' Branchinella lithaca'' (Creaser, 1940) * '' Branchinella longirostris'' Wolf, 1911 * '' Branchinella lyrifera'' Linder, 1941 * '' Branchinella madurai'' Raj, 1951 * '' Branchinella mcraeae'' Timms, 2005 * '' Branchinella minuta'' Rœn, 1952 * '' Branchinella multidigitata'' Timms, 2008 * '' Branchinella nana'' Timms, 2003 * '' Branchinella nichollsi'' Linder, 1941 * '' Branchinella occidentalis'' Dakin, 1914 * '' Branchinella ondonguae'' (Barnard, 1924) * '' Branchinella ornata'' Daday, 1910 * '' Branchinella papillata'' Timms, 2008 * '' Branchinella pinderi'' Timms, 2008 * '' Branchinella pinnata'' Geddes, 1981 * '' Branchinella proboscida'' Henry, 1924 * '' Branchinella simplex'' Linder, 1941 * '' Branchinella spinosa'' (Milne-Edwards, 1840) * '' Branchinella sublettei'' Sissom, 1976 * '' Branchinella thailandensis'' Sanoamuang, Saengphan & Murugan, 2002 * '' Branchinella vosperi'' Timms, 2008 * '' Branchinella wellardi'' Milner, 1929 Some related fairy shrimp, such as '' Phallocryptus wrighti'', were formerly placed in ''Branchinella''.

References

Anostraca Branchiopoda genera Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{branchiopoda-stub