Moina

{{Short description|Genus of small freshwater animals}}

{{Other uses|Moina (disambiguation)}}

{{Automatic taxobox

| image = Moina sp.jpg

| image_caption =

| taxon = Moina

| authority = Baird, 1850 {{ITIS |id=84163 |taxon=Moina}}

| display_parents = 3

| type_species = Moina brachiata

| type_species_authority = (Jurine, 1820) {{cite web |url=http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/abrs/online-resources/fauna/afd/taxa/Moina |title=Moina |work=Australian Faunal Directory |publisher=Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts |date=October 8, 2009}}

}}

Moina is a genus of crustaceans within the family Moinidae.{{cite book |author=Geological and Natural History Survey of Minnesota |year=1884 |title=Annual Report: Geological and Natural History Survey of Minnesota}} The genus was first described by W. Baird in 1850. They are referred to as water fleas, but are related to the much larger Daphnia magna and the larger Daphnia pulex.[http://www.boldsystems.org/index.php/Taxbrowser_Taxonpage?taxid=4570 BOLD Systems: Moina {genus} - Arthropoda; Branchiopoda; Diplostraca; Moinidae;] This genus demonstrates the ability to survive in waters containing low oxygen levels, high salinity, and other impurities, including salt pans, and commonly eutrophication.{{Cite journal |last1=Vignatti |first1=Alicia María |last2=Cabrera |first2=Gabriela Cecilia |last3=Echaniz |first3=Santiago Andrés |date=2013 |title=Distribution and biological aspects of the introduced species Moina macrocopa (Straus, 1820) (Crustacea, Cladocera) in the semi-arid central region of Argentina |journal=Biota Neotropica |language=en |volume=13 |issue=3 |pages=86–92 |doi=10.1590/S1676-06032013000300011 |doi-access=free }} An example of such an extreme habitat is the highly saline Makgadikgadi Pans of Botswana, which supports prolific numbers of Moina belli.{{cite web |author=C. Michael Hogan |year=2008 |title=Makgadikgadi |work=The Megalithic Portal |url=http://www.megalithic.co.uk/article.php?sid=22373&mode=&order=0}}

The Moina are known to be found in various types of bodies of water in Eurasia where new found research indicates that there is an increased presence of biodiversity in regions of Northern Eurasia, Japan and China.{{Cite journal |last1=Makino |first1=Wataru |last2=Machida |first2=Ryuji J. |last3=Okitsu |first3=Jiro |last4=Usio |first4=Nisikawa |date=2020-02-01 |title=Underestimated species diversity and hidden habitat preference in Moina (Crustacea, Cladocera) revealed by integrative taxonomy |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s10750-019-04147-3 |journal=Hydrobiologia |language=en |volume=847 |issue=3 |pages=857–878 |doi=10.1007/s10750-019-04147-3 |s2cid=209332097 }} According to genetic data, the genus Moina is divided into two big faunistic groups: European-Western Siberian and Eastern Siberian-Far Eastern, with a transitional zone at the Yenisey River basin (Eastern Siberia).{{Cite journal |last1=Bekker |first1=Eugeniya I. |last2=Karabanov |first2=Dmitry P. |last3=Galimov |first3=Yan R. |last4=Kotov |first4=Alexey A. |date=2016-08-24 |title=DNA Barcoding Reveals High Cryptic Diversity in the North Eurasian Moina Species (Crustacea: Cladocera) |journal=PLOS ONE |language=en |volume=11 |issue=8 |page=e0161737 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0161737 |pmc=4996527 |pmid=27556403|bibcode=2016PLoSO..1161737B |doi-access=free }} There is an increase of new phylogroups found in Northern Eurasia, an increase of 4 new Moina species in Japan and an increase of five new lineages in China.{{Cite journal |last1=Ni |first1=Yijun |last2=Ma |first2=Xiaolin |last3=Hu |first3=Wei |last4=Blair |first4=David |last5=Yin |first5=Mingbo |date=2019-05-01 |title=New lineages and old species: Lineage diversity and regional distribution of Moina (Crustacea: Cladocera) in China |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1055790318307103 |journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution |language=en |volume=134 |pages=87–98 |doi=10.1016/j.ympev.2019.02.007 |pmid=30753887 |s2cid=73443721 }} In the water bodies of the world, at least 4 species of Moina are non-native species.{{Cite journal |last1=Kotov |first1=Alexey A. |last2=Karabanov |first2=Dmitry P. |last3=Van Damme |first3=Kay |date=2022-09-09 |title=Non-Indigenous Cladocera (Crustacea: Branchiopoda): From a Few Notorious Cases to a Potential Global Faunal Mixing in Aquatic Ecosystems |journal=Water|volume=14 |issue=18 |page=2806 |doi=10.3390/w14182806 |doi-access=free}}