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Daphnia retrocurva
Phylum Arthropoda
Subphylum Crustacea
Class Branchiopoda
Suborder Cladocera
Family Daphniidae
Distinguishing Characteristics
  • Rostrum present
  • Cervical sinus absent
  • Postabdominal claw with middle pecten larger but not more than twice as long as distal pecten
  • Anterior margin of head with small to large helmet
  • “Retrocurved” means to come to a point at a position dorsal to the midline of the body (1). Helmets are elongated or expanded heads often in conjunction with longer shell spines and shorter, narrow carapaces (1).
Ecology
Additional Notes
Additional Pictures
         
Quicktime Movies
 
References
(1) Riessen, H. P. (1984). The other side of Cyclomorphosis: Why Daphnia lose their helmets. Limnol. Oceanogr. 29 (5): 1123-1127.