Portal:Marine life/Selected Article/November, 2006
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The Antarctic krill, Euphausia superba, is a species of krill found in the Antarctic waters of the Southern Ocean. Antarctic krill are shrimp-like invertebrates that live in large schools, called swarms, sometimes reaching densities of 10,000 - 30,000 individual animals per cubic meter. They feed directly on minute phytoplankton, thereby using the primary production energy that the phytoplankton originally derived from the sun in order to sustain their pelagic (open ocean) life cycle. They grow to a length of 6 cm, weigh up to 2 grams, and can live for up to six years. They are a key species in the Antarctic ecosystem and are, in terms of biomass, likely the most successful animal species on the planet (approximately 500 million tonnes).
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