Bosmina Coregoni

Bosmina Coregoni model (a. 30 cm.)

Under supervision of Dr. Thomas Schaarschmidt (DMM) and Jørgen Olsen (SNM).

This cute little waterflea lives in freshwater ponds and lakes all over the world, where it reaches a total length of 0,2 to 0,8 mm. It is recognized by its large antennae located in front of a single large eyespot.

It filter feeds and are good at selecting specific phytoplankton in the water column. It consumes algae and protozoans about 1–3 μm long, and are known to have a dual feeding mechanism: They can filter the water using their second and third legs and the first leg will grab the particles. The second and third legs have small setules attached to the seta to make a mesh-like structure for filtering.

Reproduction can occur either between sexual females and males, or parthenogenetically in asexual females. Parthenogenesis means that females make clones of themselves, just like some plants do.