branchiopod

/brang"kee euh pod'/, n.

1. any crustacean of the class (or subclass) Branchiopoda, having flattened, footlike appendages that bear respiratory organs.

adj.

2. Also, branchiopodous /brang'kee op"euh deuhs/. belonging or pertaining to the Branchiopoda.

[1820-30; < NL Branchiopoda. See BRANCHIO-, -POD]

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▪ crustacean

Introduction

      any of the roughly 800 species of the class Branchiopoda (subphylum Crustacea, phylum Arthropoda). They are aquatic animals that include brine shrimp, fairy shrimp, tadpole shrimp, water fleas, and other small, chiefly freshwater forms.

      Branchiopods are generally regarded as primitive crustaceans. Their long fossil record dates back to the Devonian period (416 million to 360 million years ago). Although certain members of the group, such as fairy shrimp in the infraorder Anostraca, are mainly confined to temporary pools, the water flea, order Anomopoda (water flea), is so successful that there are few fresh waters in the world without one or more species of anomopod.

General features

Size range and diversity of structure

      The smallest branchiopods are found among the anomopods, where some species are only 0.25 millimetre (0.01 inch) long. The largest living branchiopod is Branchinecta gigas, a fairy shrimp that reaches a length of 10 centimetres (3.9 inches). Some members of the fossil order Kazacharthra also grew to a length of 10 centimetres.

      The class Branchiopoda is divided into 10 orders, two of which are extinct and known only through the fossil record. Branchiopods show a great diversity of form. In the Laevicaudata, for example, the number of trunk segments remains constant; there are 12 pairs of trunk limbs in the female and 10 pairs in the male. In the Spinicaudata, however, the number of paired trunk segments varies among its members from 12 up to 32 in some species. A carapace is present in the infraorders Ctenopoda and Anomopoda, but it encloses only the trunk, leaving the head free. In the infraorders Onychopoda and Haplopoda the carapace does not enclose the trunk limbs but forms a brood pouch on the dorsal surface. The anostracans (fairy shrimps and brine shrimps) lack a carapace and have stalked eyes, in contrast to the other living group, whose eyes are set into the head.

      The two fossil groups as well differ markedly from each other. The order Lipostraca lacked a carapace and had 13 pairs of trunk limbs and a pair of large antennae, which appear to have been used in swimming. The order Kazacharthra had a well-developed carapace and six pairs of large thoracic limbs. The main structural feature linking these diverse forms, both living and fossil, is the flattened, or paddlelike, trunk limb, which often but not always is used in filter feeding. In the infraorders Onychopoda and Haplopoda even this feature is modified, and the trunk limbs have become specialized for grasping prey.

Distribution and abundance

      Branchiopods are found worldwide in fresh waters, and only a few species live in marine environments. The anostracans, notostracans (tadpole shrimp), and the suborders Laevicaudata and Spinicaudata are particularly characteristic of temporary waters, where they survive dry periods as resting eggs. The anostracan Branchinecta paludosa and the notostracan Lepidurus arcticus are regularly found in small pools of the Arctic tundra regions. These pools are temporary in the sense that they freeze solid in winter. A few species in these groups are found in permanent lakes.

      The ctenopods and anomopods play an important role in fresh waters throughout the world, both in the open waters of large lakes and in the shallower plant-rich zones around the margins of ponds and lakes. Their diet consists to a large extent of algae and bacteria, and in turn they are important as food for fish. A few species of the infraorders Ctenopoda and Onychopoda are found in the sea, and the anostracan brine shrimp Artemia is often abundant in inland saline waters. The immature forms of Artemia are used as food for the young of various commercial marine fishes.

Natural history

reproduction and life cycles (life cycle)

      A typical branchiopod begins its life cycle as a nauplius larva, which has a simple undivided triangular body and three pairs of appendages: antennules, antennae, and mandibles. The antennae are used for swimming. As the nauplius feeds and grows, it gradually changes into the adult form—the body becomes segmented, or jointed, and additional limbs develop. In adult anostracans and notostracans the antennae lose their swimming function, but in adults of the other six orders they remain large and functional. The spinicaudate Cyclestheria lays its eggs in the space between the trunk and the carapace. These eggs develop rapidly into miniatures of the adult, skipping the larval stages. A similar mode of reproduction is found in the ctenopods, anomopods, and onychopods.

      Branchiopods mature rapidly. A small cladoceran (water flea) can lay eggs in the warm water of a temporary desert pool after two days. In temperate latitudes, a cladoceran may mature in less than a week during a warm summer.

      The sexual arrangement in some branchiopods is that of separate males and females. Others are modified so that their eggs develop without fertilization (parthenogenesis). Some branchiopods have both male and female reproductive structures in one individual.

      Among the branchiopods the anomopods show the greatest variety of reproductive habits. Under favourable conditions the eggs are laid in a brood pouch between the carapace and the trunk. There they develop rapidly and, after about two days, hatch as females, which in turn lay eggs that give rise to more females. No males are necessary for this process. When food is scarce or when there is a sudden temperature change, some of the eggs develop into males, and some of the females begin producing eggs that must be fertilized by sperm from the males. These fertilized eggs are remarkably resistant to unfavourable environmental conditions; even if frozen or dried, they will hatch when returned to favourable conditions. Many anomopods survive the winter as fertilized eggs; species that dwell in temporary pools lay such eggs to survive periods of drought. Certain Arctic or alpine anomopods, such as Daphnia middendorffiana, produce resistant eggs that do not require fertilization. The resistant, or dormant, fertilized eggs normally hatch in the following spring, giving rise to the usual miniature adult females. In Leptodora the resting egg hatches into a nauplius larva, although the rapidly developing eggs produced in the summer give rise to miniature females.

      Members of the other branchiopod orders also can produce dormant, fertilized eggs. Many desert-pool species produce only resting eggs; they must abbreviate their life cycles to coincide with the brief period of favourable conditions, and their eggs must be capable of remaining dry for long periods, sometimes several years.

Ecology

      Some species of Daphnia in temperate lakes show a remarkable seasonal change in form. In the winter the females have rounded heads, but the females of generations in late spring and summer have pointed heads. High temperature and water turbulence favour the development of a pointed head. The most plausible explanation seems to be related to predation by fish. The feeding activity of plankton-eating fish decreases in winter and increases rapidly in the spring and summer. The fish select the large Daphnia, the most conspicuous parts of which are the eye and the carapace with its enclosed limbs and eggs. When the head becomes pointed and enlarged, the size of the carapace is reduced, and the eye is often smaller. Thus, there is an overall decrease in conspicuousness that occurs in the summer forms.

      The trunk limbs of all branchiopods are used to gather food. Filters formed by setae, or fine hairs, separate the food particles from the water, and an elaborate mechanism shifts food from the filters to the mouth. The filters enable branchiopods to collect material as small as bacteria for food. The ability to utilize bacteria is important in cleansing water in reservoirs, where Daphnia is often abundant.

      The notostracans Triops and Lepidurus can collect small particles, but they can also act as predators. Lepidurus arcticus has been observed feeding on another Arctic branchiopod, the anostracan Branchinecta paludosa, which often lives in the same tundra pools. Sometimes a species changes its feeding habits with age. The large fairy shrimp Branchinecta ferox feeds on small particles when young but becomes a predator when mature.

locomotion

      Notostracans and anostracans swim with their trunk limbs, which beat in a rhythm so that jets of water are forced out sideways and backward from the spaces between the limbs to drive the animal ahead. Some anostracans, such as Chirocephalus, have a complex system of flaps and muscles in the trunk limbs, and they modify the limb movement in order to hover in one position for long periods. The other six orders swim by means of their antennae, which have two branches bearing featherlike setae that increase the effective area of the antenna. The suborders Spinicaudata and Laevicaudata are slow, clumsy swimmers, and they are highly vulnerable to predation by fish; thus, they are most commonly found in temporary pools, where fish are absent. The anomopods, although smaller, are much livelier swimmers.

Responses to light (photoreception)

      The most notable behavioral responses of branchiopods are in relation to light. The Anostraca are remarkable in showing a ventral light response: when light is directed from above, they turn their ventral surface toward the light. If they are artificially lit from below and not from above, they turn over. In the anomopods the response to light is complex and varies with the colour of the light. In red light, Daphnia maintains its position in the water by a hop-and-drop type of swimming. In blue light, it swims more rapidly in a horizontal direction. These two methods of swimming are related to the presence of food. When foods such as small green algae are present in the water, they absorb most of the blue light, and the light that penetrates is mainly red. Stationary swimming in response to this red light is advantageous to Daphnia, and it maintains its position. In the absence of food such as green algae, more blue light is present in the water. Daphnia is stimulated in response to this blue light to swim horizontally and to search a wider area. If Daphnia is starved and kept in red light, however, it eventually swims horizontally; i.e., starvation blocks out the normal response to red light.

Form and function

External features

      The fundamental structure of the Branchiopoda is related to their methods of feeding. In most species this involves a series of limbs acting together to filter, scrape, or otherwise gather food particles into a ventral food groove and transport them to the mouth. In the elongated forms, such as the anostracans, the segmentation of the trunk is simple and obvious, but in the short-bodied forms, such as the anomopods and onychopods, the trunk is much compressed and the segmentation is obscured. The exoskeleton of the branchiopods is generally thin and flexible, although in the notostracans it can be quite rigid in some parts. The crushing or biting parts of the mandibles are usually the thickest and strongest. The trunk limbs often have a complex intrinsic musculature, which enables the various parts of the limb to be moved relative to each other. Extrinsic muscles, having their origins within the trunk, operate at the bases of the limbs and are responsible for movements of the whole limb. The primitive branchiopod limb can be thought of as a multipurpose flap serving for locomotion, feeding, and respiration.

Internal features

The circulatory system

      The branchiopod heart is often visible in the intact animal. In Daphnia the heart is short and almost spherical, with two inlet holes, or ostia, and a single anterior opening. In the more elongated forms, such as the anostracans, the heart is longer, with a pair of ostia in each trunk segment except the first and last. In the notostracans the heart has 11 pairs of ostia, while the spinicaudates have four pairs and the laevicaudates three pairs. In all branchiopods the heart discharges blood into an open body cavity, or hemocoel, without any definite vessels. In spite of this open system the blood follows a fairly definite course around the body, a good proportion passing through the trunk limbs before returning to the heart.

      The blood of branchiopods is unusual among crustaceans in containing the red respiratory pigment hemoglobin dissolved in the plasma. The concentration of hemoglobin in branchiopod blood varies inversely with the oxygen content of the surrounding water: when little oxygen is in the water, the blood contains a large quantity of hemoglobin and is bright red.

The nervous system

      The branchiopod nervous system consists of a cerebral ganglion, or brain, connected to two chains of ventral ganglia, which run along the trunk, underneath the gut. Nerves develop from these ganglia to the various mouthparts and limbs. In the anostracans the two chains are cross-connected in each segment so that the system resembles a ladder. In the short-bodied forms, such as the anomopods and onychopods, the ventral nervous system is condensed into a single mass. The most conspicuous sense organs are the eyes (eye, human). In the anostracans the eyes are on movable stalks, while in the notostracans the paired eyes lie close together on top of the head. In the other living branchiopods the eyes join together to form a single more or less spherical eye in the middle of the head. All branchiopod eyes are provided with muscles and show rapid trembling movements thought to be part of a scanning process that gives more information about the surroundings than could be gained with a stationary eye. Other sense organs in branchiopods are used mainly as organs of touch (mechanoreception) or taste (chemoreception). These sense organs take the form of bristles connected with nerves at their base, and those concerned with taste are often thin-walled and tubular in form. The notostracans in particular are richly endowed with both sorts of receptors on their trunk limbs; they help in sorting the edible from the inedible as the animal grubs about in the mud at the bottom of a pool.

The digestive system

      The branchiopod digestive system shows considerable variation. In most groups the esophagus is narrow and has muscles which can dilate and others which can contract so that food can be pushed rapidly into the midgut. In many branchiopods the midgut is a simple tube with a pair of blind sacs, or diverticula. These diverticula may be simple extensions from the gut, or they may be complexly branched as in the notostracans and the spinicaudates. Some anomopods of the family Chydoridae have coiled midguts and may also have a single posterior diverticulum. One phenomenon shown by many branchiopods is anal swallowing. Water is taken in through the anus and is thought to act like an enema in clearing unwanted material from the hindgut.

The excretory system

      The branchiopod excretory organ is the maxillary, or shell, gland, so called because loops of the excretory duct can be seen in the wall of the carapace. In the nauplius larva the excretory function is performed by a gland opening on the antennae, but this degenerates as the animal grows and the maxillary gland takes over. Some excretion also can occur through the wall of the gut, which transfers substances from the blood into the gut lumen, from which it passes to the outside.

      Most branchiopods have thin cuticles so that a certain amount of respiratory exchange can take place over the general body surface. The trunk limbs of most groups are flattened and leaflike, and on their outer edges they bear thin-walled lobes that can function like gills. The continuous movements of the trunk limbs of an anostracan, for instance, ensure a constant flow of water over these lobes. The lobes on the trunk limbs also play a part in ionic regulation, a process that controls the concentration and composition of the salts in the body fluids.

Hormones

      There is good evidence of cyclic secretion of substances in the brain, which appears to be related to the control of molting and reproduction.

Evolution and paleontology

      The Branchiopoda originated in pre-Devonian times, for in the Devonian period a distinct order and suborder are evident: the Lipostraca and the Spinicaudata, respectively. The Lipostraca contains only Lepidocaris rhyniensis, from the Rhynie cherts of Scotland. This minute branchiopod is preserved so well that fine details of its limbs can be seen. Its structure is better known than that of any other fossil crustacean. It is even possible to deduce its method of feeding. The first three pairs of trunk limbs could have scraped material from the surfaces of plants or stones, and the food could then be transported forward to the mouth by a series of setae near the bases of the limbs. The trunk limbs lying behind the first three were two-branched and could have been used for swimming. Fossil members of the Spinicaudata are also known from the Devonian period, but their limb structure is not known in the detail available for Lepidocaris; many were preserved only as carapaces. The Laevicaudata extends back as far as the Early Cretaceous epoch (146 million to 100 million years ago).

      The Kazacharthra were much larger than Lepidocaris and occur later in the fossil record, being found in the Early Jurassic epoch (208 to 187 million years ago). They had elongated bodies with more than 40 body segments, a large carapace, and six pairs of complex flattened limbs.

      At various times some of the fossils from the Burgess shales of the Cambrian period (542 million to 488 million years ago) have been allocated to the Branchiopoda, but none of these has been generally accepted. Some fossils from the Cambrian period of Sweden, however, show features similar to those of primitive branchiopods, although the preservation is not sufficient to classify them with certainty. The earliest apparent anostracans are found in the Early Cretaceous epoch. They have trunk limbs very similar to those of recent anostracans. They also have stalked eyes and brood pouches.

      Notostracan carapaces have been found in the Carboniferous period (360 million to 300 million years ago), and the two extant genera, Triops and Lepidurus, are known from the Triassic period (251 million to 200 million years ago). Some have actually been placed in the living species Triops cancriformis, indicating that this species has been in existence for more than 200 million years. The Anomopoda occur as fossils in recent deposits. The families Chydoridae and Bosminidae in particular have been used, in conjunction with pollen and diatoms, to interpret climatic and ecological changes during the histories of individual lakes. Older fossils of anomopods are rare, but egg cases, or ephippia, have been found from the Oligocene epoch (34 million to 23 million years ago) and possibly from the Cretaceous period.

Classification

Distinguishing taxonomic features

      Branchiopods are free-living forms, the most primitive members of the arthropod subphylum Crustacea. They have compound eyes and usually a protective plate, or carapace. There are many body segments and four or more pairs of trunk limbs that are usually lobed, broad, and fringed on the inner side. The mouthparts are small and simple, and the nervous system is primitive. Most species occur in fresh water.

Annotated classification

      The groups indicated by a dagger (†) are extinct and known only from fossils.

Phylum Arthropoda

 

      Subphylum Crustacea

 

      Class Branchiopoda

 Distinguishing features include form of trunk limbs and carapace; 8 living and 2 fossil orders.

      †Order Lipostraca

 Known only from the Devonian; contains only the fossil Lepidocaris rhyniensis; 18 segments behind the head, plus telson-bearing caudal rami; no carapace; 13 pairs of trunk limbs in female; antennae large and branched, probably used in swimming; first maxillae small in the female but enlarged in the male as claspers; eggs give rise to nauplius larvae; about 3 mm long.

      Order Anostraca (fairy shrimp)

 Elongated forms with paired compound eyes on stalks; no carapace; up to 27 body segments behind head, plus a telson with flattened caudal rami; usually 11, but up to 19, pairs of trunk limbs; eggs carried in a brood pouch behind the last pair of trunk limbs; antennae of female simple, but enlarged in the male to form claspers; worldwide; in fresh water, particularly temporary pools, and inland saline waters.

      Order Diplostraca

 

      Suborder Spinicaudata

 Large carapace in 2 parts encloses head and trunk; antennae large, branched, and used in swimming; 16 to 32 pairs of trunk limbs, flattened, leaflike, and used in filter feeding; male with first 2 pairs of trunk limbs modified for grasping female during mating; nauplius larvae, except Cyclestheria; fossils known from Devonian; recent forms worldwide, except polar regions; in fresh water, usually temporary pools.

      Suborder Laevicaudata

 Large bivalved carapace encloses the trunk but not the head; antennae large, branched, and used in swimming; first pair of trunk limbs of male modified for grasping the female during mating, other trunk limbs leaflike and used in filter feeding; nauplius larvae; fossils known from Cretaceous; recent forms worldwide in temporary fresh waters but not in polar regions.

      Suborder Cladocera

 

      Infraorder Ctenopoda

 Short-bodied forms with 6 pairs of trunk limbs, of which 5 bear filters; bivalved carapace encloses trunk but not head; antennae large, used in swimming, and bearing long swimming setae; all filter feeders; no larval stages, young hatch as miniatures of adult; worldwide in fresh water, except Antarctica; one genus, Penilia, is marine.

      Infraorder Anomopoda (water flea)

  Short-bodied forms with 5 or 6 pairs of trunk limbs; bivalved carapace encloses only the trunk; antennae large, branched, with up to 9 swimming setae; some filter feeders, some scrapers, and 1 genus, Anchistropus, parasitic on Hydra; no larval stages; resting eggs enclosed in a special case or ephippium; worldwide in fresh water.

      Infraorder Onychopoda

  Short-bodied forms with carapace reduced to a dorsal brood pouch; 4 pairs of trunk limbs, which only grasp prey; single large median eye with many visual elements; antennae large, branched, with 12–15 swimming setae; freshwater and marine, with radiation into endemic species in the Caspian Sea.

      Infraorder Haplopoda

  Contains only 1 genus, Leptodora, a plankton feeder; carapace reduced to a dorsal brood pouch; large antennae with more than 20 swimming setae; 6 pairs of grasping trunk limbs; head elongated with small, complex eye; transparent except for eye; young develop into miniatures of adult during summer, but overwintering resting eggs give rise to nauplius larvae; found in the fresh waters of the Holarctic region.

      Order Notostraca (tadpole shrimp)

  Large domed carapace covers part of trunk of up to 44 segments; telson with paired, threadlike rami; up to 71 pairs of trunk limbs; elongated first trunk limb functioning as tactile organ; antennae reduced or absent; paired, compound eyes without stalks; eggs, carried in pouches, hatch as nauplius larvae; worldwide except Antarctica; in fresh water, rarely in brackish water, most frequently in temporary pools.

      †Order Kazacharthra

  Early Jurassic; large carapace covers part of trunk; last 32–40 segments lack limbs; 6 pairs of large trunk limbs project beyond carapace; trunk ends in a large flat telson with a pair of long rami; overall length up to 10 cm.

Critical appraisal

      Some authorities classify the Spinicaudata and Laevicaudata as suborders of a single order, the Conchostraca (clam shrimp). Most authorities group the Ctenopoda, Anomopoda, Onychopoda, and Haplopoda in another single suborder, the Cladocera. Some would go further and put the Cladocera and Conchostraca together as the Diplostraca. Other alternatives, which have not found general acceptance, are the inclusion of the Cephalocarida within the Branchiopoda, and the use of the groups Sarsostraca and Calmanostraca, the latter including all the orders except the Anostraca and Lipostraca.

James Green

Additional Reading

H.G. Cannon and F.M.C. Leak, “The Feeding Mechanism of the Branchiopoda,” Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series B, 222:267–352 (1933), provides a classical, beautifully illustrated account. A.R. Longhurst, “A Review of the Notostraca,” Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History), 3:1–57 (1955), is a revision of the systematics of the Notostraca and a standard work on the subject. See also G. Fryer, “A New Classification of the Branchiopod Crustacea,” Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 91(4):357–383 (1987).

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