Antarctic krill

Antarctic krill
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Euphausiacea
Family: Euphausiidae
Genus: Euphausia
Species:
E. superba
Binomial name
Euphausia superba
Dana, 1850
Synonyms [2]
  • Euphausia antarctica Sars, 1883
  • Euphausia australis
  • Euphausia glacialis
  • Euphausia murrayi Sars, 1883

Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) is a species of krill found in the Antarctic waters of the Southern Ocean. It is a small, swimming crustacean that lives in large schools, called swarms, sometimes reaching densities of 10,000–30,000 animals per cubic metre.[3] It feeds directly on minute phytoplankton, thereby using the primary production energy that phytoplankton originally derive from the sun in order to sustain its pelagic life cycle.[4] It grows to a length of 6 centimetres (2.4 in), weighs up to 2 grams (0.071 oz), and can live for up to six years. A key species in the Antarctic ecosystem and in terms of biomass, E. superba is one of the most abundant animal species on the planet, with a cumulative biomass of approximately 500 million metric tons (550 million short tons; 490 million long tons).[5]

  1. ^ Kawaguchi, S.; Nicol, S. (2015). "Euphausia superba". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2015: e.T64239743A64239951. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-2.RLTS.T64239743A64239951.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ^ Volker Siegel (2010). Volker Siegel (ed.). "Euphausia superba Dana, 1850". World Euphausiacea database. World Register of Marine Species. Archived from the original on 24 May 2011. Retrieved May 10, 2011.
  3. ^ William M. Hamner; Peggy P. Hamner; Steven W. Strand; Ronald W. Gilmer (1983). "Behavior of Antarctic krill, Euphausia superba: chemoreception, feeding, schooling and molting". Science. 220 (4595): 433–435. Bibcode:1983Sci...220..433H. doi:10.1126/science.220.4595.433. PMID 17831417. S2CID 22161686.
  4. ^ Uwe Kils; Norbert Klages (1979). "Der Krill" [The Krill]. Naturwissenschaftliche Rundschau (in German). 32 (10): 397–402. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2011-05-10.
  5. ^ Stephen Nicol; Yoshinari Endo (1997). Krill Fisheries of the World. Fisheries Technical Paper 367. Food and Agriculture Organization. ISBN 978-92-5-104012-6.