fairy shrimp

noun

: any of several very small translucent freshwater branchiopod crustaceans (order Anostraca)

Examples of fairy shrimp in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The latest blow – and possibly the reason the area has seen such drastic erosion in recent months – is believed to have come from a fairy shrimp vernal pool habitat that sits above on the cliff. Laylan Connelly, Orange County Register, 25 Feb. 2024 Each year when the snowmelt floods onto the Black Rock, tiny communities of macroinvertebrates like fairy shrimp and brine fleas come to life. Kimberley Mok, Treehugger, 8 Sep. 2023 But nothing else matches the extremophiles, animals like the dinosaur shrimp and fairy shrimp, that can lay dormant for decades. Caroline Delbert, Popular Mechanics, 7 Sep. 2023 The project site is also important habitat for other rare species, including western spadefoot toads, Quino checkerspot butterflies and San Diego fairy shrimp, said John Buse, senior counsel for the Center for Biological Diversity, a national, nonprofit conservation organization. San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Oct. 2020 The fairy shrimp, for example, are born, mate and lay eggs in the pools created during a flash flood. Julie Jag, The Salt Lake Tribune, 2 July 2022 Divots in the dome’s surface collect rainwater to create vernal pools, which are home to fairy shrimp, tiny translucent freshwater crustaceans. Outside Online, 17 June 2021 The morphological differences between the new shrimp and a Mongolian fairy shrimp, Phallocryptus tserensodnomi, were slight: a longer frontal organ, and curvier antennae. Sabrina Imbler New York Times, Star Tribune, 24 Sep. 2020 But when rains come, the eggs unfurl into small, feathery crustaceans called fairy shrimp, the freshwater cousins of brine shrimp. Sabrina Imbler New York Times, Star Tribune, 24 Sep. 2020

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fairy shrimp.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1857, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of fairy shrimp was in 1857

Dictionary Entries Near fairy shrimp

Cite this Entry

“Fairy shrimp.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fairy%20shrimp. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

fairy shrimp

noun
: any of several very small translucent freshwater crustaceans

More from Merriam-Webster on fairy shrimp

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!