Identification of Creature of the Month

July, 2005

Pleased to meet you.

My name is Leptodora kindtii

Notes: Leptodora, the largest cladoceran, dwarfs other marine and brackish species. This, transparent cladoceran is quite unlike most familiar water fleas. It is widespread in freshwater lakes in Europe and the U. S.. Despite its huge size and high seasonal abundance in the Chesapeake Bay, published reports from brackish waters are rare, perhaps due to its tendency to remain near the bottom during the day.

Biology and Ecology: Life cycle: Unlike other cladocerans, brood are released at the nauplius stage. A predator of other zooplankton Leptodora is a favorite food of stripped bass up to 45 cm (18”) long in some Maryland reservoirs. Its role in estuarine food chains remains unstudied.

Identification: Balcer, M.D. et al. 1984. Zooplankton of the Great Lakes. University of Wisconsin Press

Web Links: Microscopy-UK Micscape Microscopy and Microscopes Magazine (Photos)

On the Ontogeny of Leptodora kindtii (Crustacea, Branchiopoda, Cladocera), with Notes on the Phylogeny of the Cladocera (Journal Article)

Submitted by: Bill Johnson, Goucher College bjohnson@Goucher.edu

Photographed using an Olympus MIC-D digital microscope.