''Lekanesphaera'' is a genus of

isopod Isopoda is an Order (biology), order of crustaceans. Members of this group are called isopods and include both Aquatic animal, aquatic species and Terrestrial animal, terrestrial species such as woodlice. All have rigid, segmented exoskeletons ...

s in the family

Sphaeromatidae Sphaeromatidae is a family of isopods, often encountered on rocky shores and in shelf waters in temperate zones. The family includes almost 100 genera and 619 known marine species (and about 65 in fresh water). Within these genera, there are gro ...

. It was split off from ''

Sphaeroma ''Sphaeroma'' is a genus of aquatic isopod crustaceans, part of the family Sphaeromatidae. Species The genus contains the following species: * '' Sphaeroma annandalei'' * '' Sphaeroma bigranulatum'' * '' Sphaeroma boryi'' * '' Sphaeroma conglob ...

'' by

Karl Wilhelm Verhoeff Karl (or Carl) Wilhelm Verhoeff (25 November 1867 – 6 December 1945) was a German myriapodologist and entomologist, specialising in myriapods (millipedes, centipedes, and related species) as well as woodlice and to a lesser extent insects. Bio ...

, 1943.: The

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

is ''L. monodi'' (formerly ''Sphaeroma monodi'' Arcangeli, 1934). Other well-studied species are ''L. glabella'' (Madera), ''L. rugicauda'' (Baltic), and ''L. hookeri'' (from Scotland and southeast Sweden to Italian lagoons). Because they inhabit

intertidal zone The intertidal zone or foreshore is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide; in other words, it is the part of the littoral zone within the tidal range. This area can include several types of habitats with various ...

s such as

estuaries An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environm ...

, their adaptation to diurnal variations in factors such as salinity are often studied.

Cladogram

Lekanesphaera cladogram from the

Catalogue of Life The Catalogue of Life (CoL) is an online database that provides an index of known species of animals, plants, fungi, and microorganisms. It was created in 2001 as a partnership between the global Species 2000 and the American Integrated Taxono ...

''Lekanesphaera rugicauda''

''Lekanesphaera rugicauda'', also called a "sea slater," is found in estuaries ranging from the Baltic, down to the Netherlands and British Isles, and south to the Bay of Biscay. It is best found in the upper intertidal of brackish waters, such as salt marsh pools, under rocks and wood.

References

* *

References

Sphaeromatidae Isopod genera {{isopod-stub