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 within the family Moinidae. The genus was first described by W. Baird in 1850. They are referred to as water fleas, but are related to the much larger ''
Daphnia magna
''Daphnia magna'' is a small planktonic crustacean (adult length 1.5–5.0 mm) that belongs to the subclass Phyllopoda.
Description
''Daphnia magna'' is a typical water flea of the genus ''Daphnia''. The females reach up to 5 mm in ...
'' and the larger ''
Daphnia pulex
''Daphnia pulex'' is the most common species of water flea. It has a cosmopolitan distribution: the species is found throughout the Americas, Europe, and Australia. It is a model species, and was the first crustacean to have its genome sequenced. ...
''. This genus demonstrates the ability to survive in waters containing low oxygen levels, high
salinity
Salinity () is the saltiness or amount of salt (chemistry), salt dissolved in a body of water, called saline water (see also soil salinity). It is usually measured in g/L or g/kg (grams of salt per liter/kilogram of water; the latter is dimensio ...
, and other
impurities
In chemistry and materials science, impurities are chemical substances inside a confined amount of liquid, gas, or solid. They differ from the chemical composition of the material or compound. Firstly, a pure chemical should appear in at least on ...
eutrophication
Eutrophication is a general term describing a process in which nutrients accumulate in a body of water, resulting in an increased growth of organisms that may deplete the oxygen in the water; ie. the process of too many plants growing on the s ...
. An example of such an extreme habitat is the highly saline
Makgadikgadi Pans
The Makgadikgadi Pan (Tswana pronunciation ), a salt pan situated in the middle of the dry savanna of north-eastern Botswana, is one of the largest salt flats in the world. The pan is all that remains of the formerly enormous Lake Makgadik ...
of
Botswana
Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...
, which supports prolific numbers of '' Moina belli''.
The ''Moina'' are known to be found in various types of bodies of water in Eurasia where new found research indicates that there is an increased presence of biodiversity in regions of Northern Eurasia, Japan and China. According to genetic data, the genus ''Moina'' is divided into two big faunistic groups: European-Western Siberian and Eastern Siberian-Far Eastern, with a transitional zone at the Yenisey River basin (Eastern Siberia). There is an increase of new phylogroups found in Northern Eurasia, an increase of 4 new ''Moina'' species in Japan and an increase of five new lineages in China. In the water bodies of the world, at least 4 species of ''Moina'' are non-native species.
Moina brevicaudata
''Moina'' is a genus of crustaceans within the family Moinidae. The genus was first described by William Baird (physician), W. Baird in 1850. They are referred to as water fleas, but are related to the much larger ''Daphnia magna'' and the large ...