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Fourteen species of Branchinella and one each of Parartemia, Streptocephalus (Parastreptocephalus) and an undescribed branchipodid genus occur in a limited area (2000 km(2)) of the Paroo in northwestern New South Wales and southwestern Queensland. Syntopic coexistence was common (55% of collections) but to a large degree species interactions are minimized by habitat factors of turbidity, salinity and length of the wet phase in decreasing order of importance, and by a species factor of relative size. Discrete habitats such as claypans had a similar species composition each time they filled, but creek pools and other connected sites had variable species composition over time. The high biodiversity is explained by the presence of many distinct types of wetlands, each with their own characteristic anostracans.