Artemia es un género de crustáceos branquiópodos. Es el único género de la familia Artemiidae del orden Anostraca. Son conocidos vulgarmente como artemias. Habitan en aguas salobres y apenas han evolucionado en su morfología desde el Triásico.[cita requerida] El registro histórico de la existencia de Artemia se remonta al año 982 en el lago Urmia (Irán), aunque el primer registro inequívoco es el informe ilustrado de Schlösser en 1756 de unos ejemplares de Lymington (Inglaterra). Existen poblaciones de Artemia en aguas continentales saladas de todo el mundo, pero no en los océanos. Artemia es capaz de evitar a la mayoría de depredadores potenciales, como los peces, por su capacidad de vivir en aguas de salinidad muy alta, de hasta 250 ‰. (Compárese con el 35 por mil que tienen, de media, las aguas oceánicas y de mares abiertos).

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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%). The ability of the Artemia to produce dormant eggs, known as cysts, has led to extensive use of Artemia in aquaculture. The cysts may be stored for long periods and hatched on demand to provide a convenient form of live feed for larval fish and crustaceans. Nauplii of the brine shrimp Artemia constitute the most widely used food item, and over 2000 tonnes of dry Artemia cysts are marketed worldwide annually. In addition, the resilience of Artemia makes them ideal animals for running biological toxicity assays and it has become a model organism used to test the toxicity of chemicals. Breeds of Artemia are sold as novelty gifts under the marketing name Sea-Monkeys or Aqua Dragons.

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