Antarctic krill
Euphausia superba Dana, 1850
Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) is a crustacean in the family Euphausiidae, within the order Euphausiacea. It belongs to the class Malacostraca and the phylum Arthropoda, and its scientific name was authored by Dana, 1850.
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Quick facts about the Antarctic krill
Antarctic krill is a living species, and the IUCN Red List assesses it globally as Least Concern (LC), which is not a threatened category.
- Weight
- up to 2 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- up to 6 cmsrc for Length
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 6 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- marinesrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Age at maturity
- 2 years – 3 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Reproduction
- Eggssrc for Reproduction
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
What does the Antarctic krill eat, and what eats it?
Species recorded in published studies and collections.
Recorded prey of the Antarctic krill
2 on record
- Calanoides acutus2 sources
- Metridia gerlachei2 sources
Recorded predators of the Antarctic krill
The 24 best supported of 71 on record
- Antarctic lanternfish Electrona antarctica11 sources
- Nichol's lanternfish Gymnoscopelus nicholsi9 sources
- Antarctic silverfish Pleuragramma antarcticum6 sources
- Striped rockcod Trematomus hansoni6 sources
- Gymnoscopelus opisthopterus6 sources
- Marbled rockcod Notothenia rossii6 sources
- Weddell seal Leptonychotes weddellii5 sources
- Antarctic prion Pachyptila desolata14 sources
- Antarctic petrel Thalassoica antarctica11 sources
- Pintado petrel Daption capense11 sources
- Mackerel icefish Champsocephalus gunnari9 sources
- Adélie penguin Pygoscelis adeliae9 sources
Show 12 more
- Blue petrel Halobaena caerulea9 sources
- Wilson's storm petrel Oceanites oceanicus9 sources
- Emperor penguin Aptenodytes forsteri8 sources
- White-chinned petrel Procellaria aequinoctialis8 sources
- Snow petrel Pagodroma nivea6 sources
- Pagetodes antarcticus5 sources
- Antarctic neosquid Alluroteuthis antarcticus5 sources
- Blackfin notothen Trematomus scotti4 sources
- Blunt scalyhead Trematomus eulepidotus4 sources
- Slender scalyhead Trematomus lepidorhinus4 sources
- Spotted notothen Trematomus nicolai4 sources
- Sharp-spined notothen Trematomus pennellii4 sources
Each pair is recorded by at least two independent datasets. A record shows the animal was seen or found to have eaten the other, including scavenged carcasses and young animals; it does not say how often. Compiled by Global Biotic Interactions (CC0 1.0).
References for these records
- Jacob et al. (2011)
- Hopkins, T.L. (1985) Food web of an Antarctic midwater ecosystem. Marine Biology 89:197-212
- Crossley, C. and Hoddell, R. (2000, updated 2007) Pelagic Fishes of the Eastern Antarctic Ocean - data from BROKE-East survey, Australian Antarctic Data Centre - CAASM Metadata (http://aadc-maps.aad.gov.au/aadc/metadata/metadata_redirect.cfm?md=AMD/AU/ASAC_865)
- Jacob, Brey & Mintenbeck unpublished
- SCAR
- Shreeve, R.S., Collins, M.A., Tarling, G.A., Main, C.E., Ward, P., Johnston, N.M. (2009) Feeding ecology of myctophid fishes in the northern Scotia Sea. Marine Ecology Progress Series 386: 221-236
- Kellermann, A. 1987. Food and feeding ecology of postlarval and juvenile Pleuragramma antarcticum (Pisces: Notothenioidei) in the seasonal pack ice zone off the Antarctic Peninsula. Polar Biology 7: 307-315.
- Bushuev, S.G. (1986) Feeding of Minke whales, Balaenoptera acutorostrata, in the Antarctic. Report of the International Whaling Commission 36:241-245
- Globi
- FishBase
- McKenna, J.E. Jr. (1991) Trophic relationships within the Antarctic demersal fish community of South Georgia Island. Fishery Bulletin 89(4): 643-654
- Casaux, R., Baroni, A., Ramon, A. (2006) The diet of the Weddell Seal Leptonychotes weddellii at the Danco Coast, Antarctic Peninsula. Polar Biology 29: 257-262
Photos of the Antarctic krill
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the Antarctic krill live?
Not recorded
What is the Antarctic krill?
Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) is a species of krill found in the Antarctic waters of the Southern Ocean. It is a small, swimming crustacean that lives in large schools, called swarms, sometimes reaching densities of 10,000–30,000 animals per cubic metre. It feeds directly on minute phytoplankton, thereby using the primary production energy that phytoplankton originally derive from the sun in order to sustain its pelagic life cycle. It grows to a length of 6 centimetres (2.4 in), weighs up to 2 grams (0.071 oz), and can live for up to six years. A key species in the Antarctic ecosystem and in terms of biomass, E. superba is one of the most abundant animal species on the planet, with a cumulative biomass of approximately 500 million metric tons (550 million short tons; 490 million long tons); however, the species is suffering from overfishing.
From the Wikipedia article “Antarctic krill” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Antarctic_krill&oldid=1381015184), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
What does the Antarctic krill sound like?
Is the Antarctic krill endangered?
The Antarctic krill is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.
How is the Antarctic krill classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumArthropoda
- classMalacostraca
- orderEuphausiacea
- familyEuphausiidae
- genusEuphausia
- SpeciesEuphausia superba Dana, 1850
Synonyms Euphasia superba, Euphausia antarctica, Euphausia australis, Euphausia glacialis, Euphausia murrayi
Other names and names in other languages (14)
- Antarktiese KrilAfrikaans
- krill antárticuAsturian
- Antarktischer Krü/KruiBavarian
- krunýřovka krillováCzech
- Antarktisk krillDanish
- Antarktischer KrillGerman
- Krill antárticoSpanish
- krill antarctiqueFrench
- Krill antarticoItalian
- ナンキョクオキアミJapanese
- Antarctisch krillDutch
- Kryl antarktycznyPolish
- Antarktika kriliTurkish
- 南极磷虾Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistITISTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the Antarctic krill
Other species in the same genus Euphausia.
CompareAntarctic krill vs Pacific krillAntarctic krill vs Ice krillAntarctic krill vs Light EuphausidAntarctic krill vs Euphausia americana
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is Antarctic krill?
Antarctic krill is a crustacean. It is classified in the family Euphausiidae and the order Euphausiacea.
What is the scientific name of Antarctic krill?
The scientific name of Antarctic krill is Euphausia superba, placed in the genus Euphausia.
Who named Euphausia superba?
Euphausia superba was named by Dana, 1850.
Is Antarctic krill endangered?
No. The IUCN Red List assesses Antarctic krill globally as Least Concern (LC), which is not a threatened category.
Is Antarctic krill extinct?
No, Antarctic krill is a living species according to the Catalogue of Life.
What class and phylum does Antarctic krill belong to?
Antarctic krill belongs to the class Malacostraca and the phylum Arthropoda, in the kingdom Animalia.
What eats the Antarctic krill?
Animals recorded preying on the Antarctic krill include antarctic lanternfish, nichol's lanternfish, antarctic silverfish and striped rockcod. The records are compiled by Global Biotic Interactions from published studies; each pair is reported by at least two datasets.
Which animals does the Antarctic krill eat?
Animals recorded as prey of the Antarctic krill include calanoides acutus and metridia gerlachei. The records are compiled by Global Biotic Interactions from published studies; each pair is reported by at least two datasets.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-14. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Global Biotic Interactions (GloBI): interpreted data products · CC0 1.0 · 0.11
Poelen, J.H., Simons, J.D. & Mungall, C.J. (2014) Global Biotic Interactions: an open infrastructure to share and analyze species-interaction datasets. Ecological Informatics 24: 148–159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoinf.2014.08.005. Data: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22691479, with each record's original reference. - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/antarctic-krill
“Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/antarctic-krill.
@misc{antarctic_krill_2026,
title = {Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/antarctic-krill},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-14}
}