Light and scanning electron microscope studies of the post embryonic development of Artemia urmiana and A parthenogenetica

There are differences in the opinions of different workers on the exact number of larval stages during the life cycle of Artemia, as well as the sequence of events during these stages. As the previous studies on the larval morphology of A. urmiana and A. parthenogenetica have been using light microscopy techniques, only, we studied the post embryonic development of A. urmiana and A. parthenogenetica by light microscope and scanning electron microscope to increase the resolution of observations and to describe characteristices that are not visible under the light microscope. Cysts of both species were obtained from Artemia Reference Center of Urmia University, and were cultured under similar controlled laboratory conditions. In each larval stage, several organs including antennules, antennae, phyllopod and external genital organs were detached and studied under light microscope equipped with camera Lucida and scanning electron microscope