Euphausia lucens is an epipelagic species restricted to the Southern Hemisphere, where it has a circumpolar distribution including parts of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans.

[4] It is an opportunistic omnivore, known to feed on diatoms, dinoflagellates, tintinnids, fish larvae, copepods, and other zooplankton and phytoplankton.

[5][9][10] Euphausia lucens is a continuous spawner, with spawning most intense from late winter to early spring.

[11] Mature females are capable of releasing a batch of eggs approximately every other day and may be reproductively active for up to eight to ten months per year.

Post-larval juveniles and adults are capable of migrating from the bottom layers of the water column to the surface,[13] with individuals reaching sexual maturity at around six months of age.