fairy shrimp

American  

noun

1. any member of the crustacean order Anostraca, characterized by an elongate trunk with more than 20 segments and the absence of a carapace, typically found swimming ventral side up in fresh water.

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fairy shrimp British  

noun

1. any small freshwater branchiopod crustacean of the genera Chirocephalus , Artemia , etc, having a transparent body with many appendages and habitually swimming on its back: order Anostraca

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Etymology

Origin of fairy shrimp

First recorded in 1855–60

Example Sentences

But when rains come, the eggs unfurl into small, feathery crustaceans called fairy shrimp, the freshwater cousins of brine shrimp.

From New York Times

Other nearby bodies of water might serve as habitat for the species, but no one has seen a Florida fairy shrimp in a very long time.

From Washington Post

Their lawsuits said construction operations would harm plants, rare wildlife habitats, threatened coastal birds like the snowy plover and California gnatcatcher, and other species such as fairy shrimp and the Quino checkerspot butterfly.

From Reuters

Alongside far more familiar polliwogs and salamander larvae, fairy shrimp swim upside down, rhythmically beating abdominal appendages that double as gills while they strain nearly microscopic sustenance from the water.

From New York Times

The land provides nesting space for the threatened California gnatcatcher, a small, blue-gray songbird, and a rare vernal pool system where fairy shrimp - tiny aquatic crustaceans - are known to thrive.

From Washington Times