Brine  Shrimp (Artemia franciscana) is a brachiopod that naturally occurs in the western U.S., Canada, and Mexico, and has introduced populations throughout the world due to aquaculture. In New Mexico they are found in the Rio San Jose and the Upper Pecos drainages. They inhabit hypersaline aquatic habitats such as saline pools and lakes, and salt evaporation ponds. They can reproduce sexually and asexually.