The term Brine shrimp, Artemia sp, descibes a group of closely related species, one of the more familiar being the commercially sold Artemia franciscana which originated in the great lakes. Brine shrimp can tolerate a wide range of salinity from water with very little salt to water with a salinity several times that of the ocean.

The most familiar species is Artemia salinas which is often raised as food for fish and sometimes as a pet. The eggs of this species are often included in toy science kits.

A commercially bred version of this species, known as Artemia NYOS is sold widely as a pet. This is the creature that appears in the infamous "Sea Monkey" ads showing caricatures that have little resemblance to actual shrimp and are shown engaging in activities that shrimp are not capable of. As fascinating as these animals are, they can't possibly live up to the hype and very few youngsters who ordered "Sea Monkeys" were not disappointed when they found out what they really are. In this sense the ads were very educational, it taught kids about hype and deception. It should be pointed out that more recent ads contain disclaimers and often show photos or realistic drawings of what the shrimp really look like, but that wasn't the case in the early days. To see what I mean, look at some comics from the 60s or view this ad online and ask yourself what you would have thought you were getting if you were a kid ordering from one of those ads!