Degtyareva E.K. 2023. Postembryonic development of males of Polyphemus pediculus (Linnaeus, 1761) (Cladocera: Onychopoda) // Arthropoda Selecta. Vol.32. No.4: 379–389 [in English].
Department of Invertebrate Zoology, Biological Faculty, M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State University, Leninskie Gory, Moscow 119234 Russia. E-mail: toytira@gmail.com
doi: 10.15298/arthsel.32.4.02
ABSTRACT: The postembryonic development of males of Polyphemus pediculus (Linnaeus, 1761) (Crustacea: Cladocera) was studied for the time in detail. Male postembryonic development includes two juvenile and a single mature instar. Stages differ in sizes of the testes, shape and size of penis, size of setae on the antenna I, morphology of copulatory hooks and armature of the endopodite distal segments of the first two pairs of thoracic limbs. Based on these data, it can be concluded that males of P. pediculus have passed through two moults during juvenile phase, as the females of this species. Morphology of two juvenile instars was studied by scanning electron microscopy and described in details for the first time.
KEY WORDS: Crustacea, Branchiopoda, Polyphemidae, Polyphemus, cladocerans, ontogenesis, morphology.