• Intestine simple
• Antennal setae formula 0-1-1-3 / 1-1-3, spine formula 0-1-0-1 / 0-0-0
• Ventral margin of valve with flattened / swollen setae
• Postabdomen small, extended behind into a long conical process
• Very large head pore

• Feeds on detritus, though epiphytic algae may be an important food source. Food collection is achieved through the scraping motions of the second trunk limb; L. rectirostris does not have a feeding-respiratory current (1).

• Lathonura rectirostris is a substratum hugger and is adapted for creeping over surfaces. The first trunk limbs have specialized crawling claws which aid in gripping the substrate and allow it crawl in an inverted position (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.