Maghrebestheria Thiéry, 1988

Rogers, D. Christopher, 2020, Spinicaudata Catalogus (Crustacea: Branchiopoda)., Zoological Studies 59 (45), pp. 1-44 : 35

Maghrebestheria Thiéry, 1988

Diagnosis: Populations composed of males and females; amplexus is venter to venter. Rostrum may be sexually dimorphic. Rostrum subtriangular (females) to rounded (males). Angle between rostrum and frons 170° to 190°. Occipital notch very shallow, broad. Occipital condyle low, truncated or acute, length half or less basal width. Carapace valve length ~1.5–1.75x valve breadth (umbone to margin). Carapace growth line intervals smooth (scarring from algae often mistaken for ornamentation). Carapace sometimes with marginal setae. Clasper endopod apically with ventral scales and apical transverse row of spatulate spines. Endite IV subcylindrical, bearing a dense, apical field of short spines and scales. Thoracic segments with dorsomedial spines or setae, posterior most segments with a medial projection bearing spines. Eggs attaching to prolonged exopods of thoracopod X through XV. Thoracopod exopods bearing a triangular lamina. Telson posterior margin posteriolateral spine rows confluent dorsally, with confluence not or slightly projecting. Each row has 50+ spines becoming apically setaform in the posterior most pairs. Females have a similar spine arrangement to males. Caudal filament originating between spine rows just posterior to confluence. Caudal filament base borne on low mound. Cercopods straight with apex bent dorsally. Cercopod with a dorsomedial longitudinal row of spines on proximal 95%, becoming longer in distal portion of cercopod. Cercopod without subapical, dorsal cirrus. Eggs smooth, subspherical, ~130 μm.

Comments: Naganawa (2001a b) and Brtek (2002) treated Maghrebestheria as a synonym of Leptestheria but provided no further explanation.

Attributed Species