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Scientific Name: Picripleuroxus similis Vávra, 1900

Synonym: Pleuroxus similis (Currently unaccepted)

English Name: Water Flea
Local/Bangla Name: Pani Poka (পানি পোকা)
Zooplankton : Picripleuroxus similis

Photo: Ian Gardiner (iNaturalist)

Classification:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Branchiopoda
Order: Anomopoda
Family: Chydoridae
Description:
The female body shape is mostly oval with a smoothly curved upper edge. There may be one to three small teeth-like projections on the lower back corners of the shell, with variations even within the same individual. The lower edge has fine hair-like structures, and there’s no specific pattern on the shell. The elongated downward-pointing nose-like structure reaches down to the lower edge of the shell, and the smaller sensory organs on the head are positioned away from the tip of this nose. The front edge of the mouthpart plate is curved outward. The distance from the simple eye to the compound eye is about half the distance from the simple eye to the tip of the nose. The tail end of the body is elongated and slightly tapers towards the tip. The upper back corner of this tail segment is slightly behind the base of the claw-like structures. There’s a somewhat noticeable corner just before the end of the tail segment. There are 10-13 gradually increasing in size spines near the end of the tail. Each claw-like structure has two small spines at its base. The length of the creature ranges from 0.45 to 0.50 millimeters. This organism reproduces through parthenogenesis. When the environment is favorable, the female undergoes several stages of growth without mating. It lays batches of eggs, which are kept in a special pouch on the mother’s body. The eggs develop within this pouch until they hatch as juveniles.
Habitat & Distribution in Bangladesh:
Commonly found in rivers in Bangladesh, such as the Halda River.
Environment:
Freshwater
Main References:

Ahmed ATA, Kabir SMH, Ahmad M, Rahman AKA, Haque EU, Ahmed ZU, Begum ZNT, Hassan MA, Khondker M (eds.) (2008) Encyclopedia of Flora and Fauna of Bangladesh, Vol. 18. Part II. Arthropoda: Crustacea. Asiatic Society of Bangladesh, Dhaka, 226 pp

DNA Barcodes from Bangladesh
GenBank Accession Number:
Other DNA Barcodes & Nucleutide Sequences
Global IUCN conservation status:
Other Information