MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF ADULT ARTEMIA (CRUSTACEA, BRANCHIOPODA) FROM DIFFERENT GEOGRAPHICAL ORIGINS - AMERICAN POPULATIONS

The morphological characterization of adult Artemia females belonging to 25 different populations from all over the Americas has been accomplished. The measures of 12 different parameters have been taken from individuals of each population raised under standardized culture conditions from nauplii to adult. They have been analyzed through multivariate discriminant procedures in order to establish relationships among the different populations, as well as to have a tool to assign new sets of data for unknown populations to one of the groups analyzed here. We have been able to clearly separate the populations of the two different species analyzed (Artemia persimilis and Artemia franciscana). In addition, we distinguish three different clusters of populations among the A.franciscana populations: North American athalassic inland populations, individuals from the Caribbean coast area and populations from the Pacific Ocean shore.