Quality of cysts and morphometry of the population of Artemia franciscana (kellogg, 1906) from the small lagoon at Yallahs, Jamaica

This study presents an analysis of the morphometric data of cysts, nauplii, and adult males and females belonging to the Artemia franciscana population from the small lagoon of Yallahs, Jamaica. The data are compared to those of Artemia found in San Francisco Bay, California, USA. The cysts of the Jamaican population have a hatching percentage of 94.75% and an efficiency of 213,000 nauplii/g. The size of the cyst is 283.5 ± 16.30 ∞m and of the nauplii, 427 ± 21.92 ∞m. These parameters are within the range established for A. franciscana. However, a few differences are observed in the morphometry of the adults. The males are larger both in abdomen and in the length of their antennae. The females have a slightly longer abdomen, although their total size is less than that recorded for the San Francisco Bay population. From the data gathered in this study it can be inferred that the population of this Jamaican anostracan belongs to the species A. franciscana.