Antarctic Krill

• It is reckoned to be the species with the greatest biomass on the planet: between 100 and 500 million tonnes, an order of magnitude comparable to the total biomass of humanity.
• Its swarms reach densities of 10,000 to 30,000 individuals per cubic metre.
• It feeds directly on phytoplankton, so it turns solar energy into animal biomass in a single step, and from there it passes to whales, seals and penguins.
• Its role goes beyond the food chain: through its daily vertical migrations and its fast-sinking faecal pellets, it transports nutrients and contributes to the Southern Ocean carbon sink.
• It supports the largest fishery in the Southern Ocean, some 300,000 tonnes a year destined mainly for aquaculture feed and krill oil.
• Its genome is enormous, about 42 gigabases, more than ten times the size of the human genome.

Skeleton type

Invertebrate - articulated calcareous exoskeleton (crustacean)

Habitat and environment

Open waters of the Southern Ocean, from the surface to about 350 m and occasionally to 600; it forms extremely dense swarms tens of kilometres across

Sexual maturity

Matures at two years old

Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euphausia_superba

The pins mark the parks and dive sites where its presence is documented.