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Westarctica (talk | contribs) (Created page with "thumb|Northern krill '''Krill''' are small crustaceans of the order Euphausiacea, and are found in all the world's oceans. The name "krill" comes f...") |
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[[File:Northern-Krill.jpg|thumb|Northern krill]] | [[File:Northern-Krill.jpg|thumb|400px|Northern krill]] | ||
'''Krill''' are small crustaceans of the order Euphausiacea, and are found in all the world's oceans. The name "krill" comes from the Norwegian word ''krill'', meaning "small fry of fish", which is also often attributed to species of fish. | '''Krill''' are small crustaceans of the order Euphausiacea, and are found in all the world's oceans. The name "krill" comes from the Norwegian word ''krill'', meaning "small fry of fish", which is also often attributed to species of fish. | ||
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==Behavior== | ==Behavior== | ||
[[File:Krill swarm.jpg|thumb|Krill swarm]] | [[File:Krill swarm.jpg|thumb|400px|Krill swarm]] | ||
===Feeding=== | ===Feeding=== | ||
Many krill are filter feeders: their frontmost appendages, the thoracopods, form very fine combs with which they can filter out their food from the water. These filters can be very fine indeed in those species (such as ''Euphausia spp.'') that feed primarily on phytoplankton, in particular on diatoms, which are unicellular algae. Krill are mostly omnivorous, although a few species are carnivorous, preying on small zooplankton and fish larvae. | Many krill are filter feeders: their frontmost appendages, the thoracopods, form very fine combs with which they can filter out their food from the water. These filters can be very fine indeed in those species (such as ''Euphausia spp.'') that feed primarily on phytoplankton, in particular on diatoms, which are unicellular algae. Krill are mostly omnivorous, although a few species are carnivorous, preying on small zooplankton and fish larvae. | ||