''Daphnia nivalis'' is a species of

water flea The Diplostraca or Cladocera, commonly known as water fleas, are a superorder of small crustaceans that feed on microscopic chunks of organic matter (excluding some predatory forms). Over 1000 species have been recognised so far, with many more ...

in the family

Daphniidae Daphniidae is a family of water fleas in the order Anomopoda. Description Members of the family Daphniidae differ from other, similar diplostracans, such as the Macrotrichidae and Moinidae, in that the antennae of females are short and immobile. ...

, closely related to '' Daphnia carinata''. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to the Snowy Mountains of eastern Australia, where it lives only in water bodies that have existed for less than 20,000 years, including Lake Cootapatamba, Australia's highest lake. Due to its restricted

range Range may refer to: Geography * Range (geographic), a chain of hills or mountains; a somewhat linear, complex mountainous or hilly area (cordillera, sierra) ** Mountain range, a group of mountains bordered by lowlands * Range, a term used to i ...

, it is listed as a

vulnerable species A vulnerable species is a species which has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as being threatened with extinction unless the circumstances that are threatening its survival and reproduction improve. Vulnera ...

on the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

References

Cladocera Freshwater crustaceans of Australia Vulnerable fauna of Australia Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Crustaceans described in 1977 {{Branchiopoda-stub