Epischura lacustris

Epischura lacustris is a species of copepod in the family Temoridae.

Epischura lacustris
Male ♂ Epischura lacustris
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Crustacea
Class:	Maxillopoda
Subclass:	Copepoda
Order:	Calanoida
Family:	Temoridae
Genus:	Epischura S. A. Forbes, 1882
Species:	lacustris S. A. Forbes, 1882

Distribution

The North American distribution of Epischura lacustris spans from the northeastern coastal United States, west to Minnesota, south to central Illinois and is currently found in all 5 of the Great Lakes as well as many other smaller waterbodies throughout its range.^[1][2][3]

Identification

E. lacustris can be visually separated from all of the other calanoids found in the Great Lakes by looking at their caudal setae and at the urosome portion of their body. E. lacustris have three stout, well-developed setae present on each of the caudal rami, where as other calanoids will have four or more thin setae. Mature specimens have noticeably bent and crooked urosomes.^[4]

References

1. Schacht, F. W. 1898. The North American Centropagidae belongs to the genera Osphranticum, Limnocalanus, and Epischura. Bull. Ill. State Lab. Nat. Hist. 5:225-269.
2. Swadling, K. M., J. A. E. Gibson, R. Pienitz, and W. F. Vincent. 2001. Biogeography of copepods in lakes and ponds of subarctic Quebec, Canada. Hydrobiologia 452/454:341-350.
3. Torke, B. 2001. The distribution of calanoid copepods in the plankton of Wisconsin Lakes. Hydrobiologia 453/454:351-365.
4. Czaika, S. C. 1982. Identification of nauplii N1-N6 and copepodids CI-CVI of the Great Lakes calanoid and cyclopoid copepods (Calanoida, Cyclopoida, Copepoda). J. Great Lakes Res. 8:439-469.