Artemia is a genus of aquatic
crustaceans known as
brine shrimp.
Artemia, the only genus in the
family Artemiidae, has changed little externally since the
Triassic period. The historical record of the existence of
Artemia dates back to 982 from
Urmia Lake,
Iran, although the first unambiguous record is the report and drawings made by Schlösser in 1757 of animals from
Lymington,
England.
Artemia populations are found worldwide in inland saltwater lakes, but not in oceans.
Artemia are able to avoid cohabiting with most types of predators, such as fish, by their ability to live in waters of very high salinity (up to 25%).