The male of Lecane bulla (Gosse, 1851): new support for the synonymy of Lecane Nitzsch, Monostyla Ehrenberg and Hemimonostyla Bartos

Abstract

The hitherto unknown male of Lecane bulla (Gosse, 1851) is described and figured. It is generally similar to the few known males of other Lecane species. However, whereas the degree of fusion of the toes accords between male and female in other species, this is not the case here: the male of L. bulla has two separate and movable toes, these are completely fused into a single toe in the female. This observation further questions the validity of the taxonomic separation of Lecane in three taxa of generic rank, based on the degree of fusion of the toes. The behaviour and reproduction of Lecane is commented upon.

Keywords:

• Rotifera Lecanidae Taxonomy Systematics Behaviour