Comments on “Toxic Effects of Dietary and Waterborne PCB‐153 on Survival, Growth, Grazing, and Physiological Responses in Artemia salina Using an Intermittent Exposure Approach” by Sun et al. (2026)

The accurate taxonomic identification and sourcing of test organisms are fundamental to the validity and reproducibility of toxicological studies. This commentary critically examines a recent study by Sun et al. (2026), which employed brine shrimp referred to as Artemia salina without verifying their species identity. Based on the known biogeography and commercial trade patterns of Artemia, the specimens used in the study were certainly not A. salina. It is argued that the use of the commercially ambiguous label A. salina and an unverified supplier constitutes a significant methodological shortcoming. This oversight undermines the reliability of the reported toxicological data, hinders cross-study comparisons, and ignores well-documented interspecific/intraspecific variations in sensitivity among Artemia species and populations/lineages. It is noted that this is not a classic taxonomic approach but rather a methodological necessity for the validity of comparative studies.