A member of the Daphnidae family of small freshwater crustaceans, commonly known as water fleas.
From Daphnia, the genus name derived from Greek Daphne, plus the suffix -ad meaning 'member of a group.' The genus itself was named after the mythological nymph.
Daphnads are among the most important creatures in freshwater ecosystems—they eat algae and get eaten by fish, but they're also used in science labs because they react instantly to toxins, making them pollution detectives!
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