Daphniidae is a family of
water flea
The Diplostraca or Cladocera, commonly known as water fleas, are a superorder of small crustaceans that feed on microscopic chunks of organic matter (excluding some predatory forms).
Over 1000 species have been recognised so far, with many more ...
s in the order
Anomopoda
Anomopoda is an order of the superorder Diplostraca. These crustaceans, a type of water flea, are members of the class Branchiopoda. The Anomopoda typically have five pairs of thoracic limbs, but sometimes have six pairs. The head of the Anomopo ...
.
Description
Members of the family Daphniidae differ from other, similar diplostracans, such as the
Macrotrichidae
Macrothricidae is a family of anomopods in the order Diplostraca. There are about 17 genera and at least 80 described species in Macrothricidae.
ITIS Taxonomic note:
*Based on "prevailing use," as permitted under the ICZN (1999), Martin & Davis r ...
and
Moinidae
Moinidae is a crustacean family within the order Cladocera. Species within this family are widely occurring, including North America and Africa. In newer classifications, it is sometimes included in the family Daphniidae
Daphniidae is a family ...
, in that the antennae of females are short and immobile.
Ecology
The feeding mechanism of the members of the family Daphniidae differs from that of the Macrotrichidae in allowing the animals to engage in
filter feeding
Filter feeders are a sub-group of suspension feeding animals that feed by straining suspended matter and food particles from water, typically by passing the water over a specialized filtering structure. Some animals that use this method of feedin ...
, rather than having to scrape food from a surface. They have evolved to fill a number of different
ecological niche
In ecology, a niche is the match of a species to a specific environmental condition.
Three variants of ecological niche are described by
It describes how an organism or population responds to the distribution of resources and competitors (for ...
s. ''
Scapholeberis
''Scapholeberis'' is a genus of small freshwater crustaceans in the family Daphniidae. The genus was described in 1858 by Schoedler and its members have a cosmopolitan distribution
In biogeography, cosmopolitan distribution is the term for th ...
'' and ''
Megafenestra'' contain species adapted to living around the surface film; ''
Simocephalus'' species cling to objects while filter feeding; others have developed a
pelagic
The pelagic zone consists of the water column of the open ocean, and can be further divided into regions by depth (as illustrated on the right). The word ''pelagic'' is derived . The pelagic zone can be thought of as an imaginary cylinder or w ...
lifestyle.
Taxonomy
The family Daphniidae contains 121 species in five genera:
*''
Ceriodaphnia
''Ceriodaphnia'' is a genus of the Daphniidae; the genus was described in 1853 by James Dwight Dana. It has cosmopolitan distribution.
Species:
* ''Ceriodaphnia dubia
''Ceriodaphnia dubia'' is a species of water flea in the class Branchiopo ...
''
Dana, 1853
*''
Daphnia
''Daphnia'' is a genus of small planktonic crustaceans, in length. ''Daphnia'' are members of the order Anomopoda, and are one of the several small aquatic crustaceans commonly called water fleas because their saltatory swimming style resembl ...
''
O. F. Müller, 1785
*''
Megafenestra''
Dumont & Pensaert, 1983
*''
Scapholeberis
''Scapholeberis'' is a genus of small freshwater crustaceans in the family Daphniidae. The genus was described in 1858 by Schoedler and its members have a cosmopolitan distribution
In biogeography, cosmopolitan distribution is the term for th ...
''
Schoedler, 1858
*''
Simocephalus''
Schoedler, 1858
The members of the family Moinidae may also be placed among the Daphniidae.
See also
*''
Daphnia pulex
''Daphnia pulex'' is the most common species of water flea. It has a cosmopolitan distribution: the species is found throughout the Americas, Europe, and Australia. It is a model species, and was the first crustacean to have its genome sequenced ...
''
*''
Ceriodaphnia dubia
''Ceriodaphnia dubia'' is a species of water flea in the class Branchiopoda, living in freshwater lakes, ponds, and marshes in most of the world. They are small, generally less than in length. Males are smaller than females. ''C. dubia'' moves u ...
''
References
External links
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q4020658
Cladocera
Crustacean families