WATER FLEA

Water flea of the genus Daphnia (magnified about 30) any member of the crustacean order Anomopoda (class Branchiopoda), a large group containing about 450 species distributed worldwide. Most forms are found in freshwater habitats, but a few occur in marine environments. The best known genus is Daphnia, ubiquitous in ponds and streams in Europe and North America. The water flea is microscopic in size, typically measuring only about 0.2 to 3.0 millimetres (0.01 to 0.12 inch) long. It has a discrete head bearing antennae and a bivalve carapace that encloses all or most of the trunk and abdomen. An exception is the predatory giant Leptodora, which grows as long as 18 mm and whose carapace is reduced to a small brood sac. Most species swim by means of powerful strokes of the antennae; in some species the successive strokes produce a characteristic hopping and sinking motion. Apart from a few predatory forms, water fleas feed on microscopic particles of organic matter, which they filter from the water with specialized thoracic limbs. They in turn are eaten by fish. Certain water fleas provide, for example, the basic food of nearly all commercial fishes of the Great Lakes of North America.