Daphnia???

[CodyLPearce]

Took a sample of stagnant fresh water and found this little creature.
I've been researching different pond micro-organisms for a while but I can't seem to find anything similar to it apart from daphnia.
I can't quite remember what magnification I was on when I found it but I had written it down as being around 356 micrometres in length if that's of any help.
(sorry, pics aren't very clear)

[Pat Thielen]

I would agree that this is a daphnia. He may look a bit different because we typically see them from the side; in your photo you're seeing him from the front, which is actually rather cool. My guess for magnification would be maybe 40x.

[KurtM]

Not Daphnia, but Chydoridae, one of several types of Cladocera, or Water Flea. Great find, Chydoridae look kind of like little cartoon characters to me.

http://protist.i.hosei.ac.jp/PDB/Images ... sp_04.html

[Pat Thielen]

Not Daphnia, but Chydoridae, one of several types of Cladocera, or Water Flea. Great find, Chydoridae look kind of like little cartoon characters to me.

http://protist.i.hosei.ac.jp/PDB/Images ... sp_04.html

Here's a really dumb question: How do you tell these guys apart from Daphnia -- They really look similar. I looked back at one I photographed not too long ago thinking it was Daphnia, but could easily be Chydoridae. Thanks for your post and correcting my post.

[75RR]

How do you tell these guys apart from Daphnia -- They really look similar.

The antennas mostly - see link: http://cfb.unh.edu/cfbkey/html/choices/ ... 11/11.html

[KurtM]

Actually, the TWO eyes are what make the ID a pretty simple one. Most Cladocera have just one. This makes Chydoridae especially easy to finger out of the ol' lineup.

Generically ID'ing water fleas as one of the Cladocerans is relatively easy, and perfectly acceptable as far as I'm concerned. Pinning down genus and species is great if that's the sorta thing you enjoy, and something I consider a bonus.

[zzffnn]

Welcome to the forum, Cody. Nice find!