Brachionus calyciflorus is a planktonic species of rotifer occurring in freshwater. It is commonly used as a model organism in toxicology, ecology and evolutionary biology. Its advantages include the small size and short generation time (average generation time of B. calyciflorus is around 2.2 days at 24 °C).
Taxonomy Brachionus calyciflorus is the type species of its genus and may be a species complex consisting of more than one species.Brachionus calyciflorus is a species complex: mating behavior and genetic differentiation among four geographically isolated strains JJ Gilbert, EJ Walsh - Rotifera X, 2005 - SpringerSpatial patterns of genetic differentiation in Brachionus calyciflorus species complex collected from East China in summer XL Xiang, YL Xi, XL Wen, JY Zhang, Q Ma - Hydrobiologia, 2010 - Springer
Reproduction Brachionus calyciflorus normally reproduces by cyclical parthenogenesis. Transitions to obligate parthenogenesis have been described. Obligate parthenogens were homozygous for a recessive allele, which caused inability to respond to the chemical signals that normally induce sexual reproduction in this species.C.-P. Stelzer, J. Schmidt, A. Wiedlroither, and S. Riss (2010). Loss of Sexual Reproduction and Dwarfing in a Small Metazoan. PLoS ONE 5(9): e12854.
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