• Intestine convoluted, convolutions occur in hind part of body and in the postabdomen
• Antennal setae formula 0-0-0-3 / 1-1-3
• Postabdominal claw denticulate, with two basal spines set side by side
• Series of long setae along the ventroposterior corner of the valves, which are widely splayed when viewed dorsally or ventrally

• Found in acidic peaty pools, especially those with Sphagnum moss (1).

• Feeds on flocculant detritus, though algal cells occur among this material they appear to contribute little to food supply and some pass through the gut undigested. The first trunk limbs are used for the collection and manipulation of food particles, which is made possible by the great flexibility, length and armature of the limb (1).

• Overall locomotion is unspecialized in A. curvirostris. The antennae are the principal means of locomotion but only a few beats are employed after which it will sink slowly to the bottom. Acantholeberis curvirostris is not an efficient crawler and the large postabdomen appears not to be used for effective pushing. The antennae are not used for scrambling as in other macrothricids and chydorids (1).

(1) FRYER, G. 1974. Evolution and adaptive radiation in the Macrothricidae (Crustacea: Cladocera): a study in comparative functional morphology and ecology. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond., B, Biol. Sci. 269: 137-274.