Rogers 2001

Rogers DC. 2001. Revision of the nearctic Lepidurus (Notostraca). Journal of Crustacean Biology 21: 991-1006.

This author revised the tadpole shrimp (Crustacea: Branchiopoda: Notostraca) occurring in North America, with particular attention to the Western USA, and the description of a new species from northern California identified with the aid of DNA sequence data. The genus had previously been rather confused, with species descriptions and type locality often unclear or poorly described. Many of the morphological traits used in species identification in this group of crustaceans are known to be highly polymorphic within populations, and some are known to be frequently damaged or destroyed by predators or other factors, with subsequent regeneration if the animal survives.

In addition to describing the new species and providing a list of diagnostic traits for each of the six North American species, this author constructed a dichotomous tree for species identification, and tested the morphological effects of variation in diet and amputation / regeneration, removing some hypervariable traits from the diagnostic criteria. Biogeographic distributions focus on California and adjacent areas, with only a few collections from Canada.