Branchipodopsis
Branchipodopsis is a genus of aquatic crustaceans, in the order Anostraca. It is one of several genera known as fairy shrimp. All described species are specialised for inhabiting ephemeral rock pools in situations such as mountains and deserts. Though the genus is most widely known from Africa, some occur in the middle east and adjoining regions. Distribution Species in the genus Branchipodopsis have been described mainly from the African mainland, in particular southern Africa, and among anostracan taxa the genus is among the most speciose in the sub-continent. Some species however have been reported from elsewhere, such as Branchipodopsis buettikeri, found in temporary desert ponds in the Sultanate of Oman, the first species found in the Arabian peninsula. The recently described species, Branchipodopsis relictus on the main island of the Socotra archipelago, which is exceedingly remote for what it is, a continental fragment of Gondwana, isolated since the Miocene. Branchipodopsis relictus is correspondingly isolated genetically as well as geographically. Ecology All the species in this genus inhabit small, transient rock pools, mainly pools containing clear rain water after heavy, seasonal rainfall. Like most inhabitants of vernal pools Branchipodopsis are adapted to the associated unpredictability and drastically changing conditions peculiar to