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| key for bdelloid rotifers, based on conspicuous features (except dental formula) |
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| Identification of bdelloid rotifers is not easy. There are some very good keys for the identification for example the "Key to the identification of the genera of bdelloid rotifers" by Claudia Ricci & Giulio Melone.
Of course this key and others are scientifically correct, but for the beginner maybe it is difficult to understand. The problem with dichotomous keys is, that if you cannot decide (for what reason whatsoever) if a certain trait is present or absent, you get stuck and cannot proceed. On the other hand there are certain traits which can be easily observed and that may help to limit the number of possible species in question or even may help to identify them. Here a selection of such traits is introduced. |
Basic morphology of bdelloid rotifers
Here is a basic description of some different types of bdelloid rotifers. |
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| dental formula |
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| upper lip |
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| spur interspace (IS) / spur length (SL) |
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| head with special features: lobes at corona |
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