Penile morphology in six populations of Branchipus schaefferi Fischer, 1834 (Crustacea: Branchiopoda) from Serbia

Abstract

Male genital morphology of six populations of Branchipus schaefferi from different locations in Serbia is described. Both qualitative and quantitative morphological traits were taken into consideration. The majority of males from lowland parts of the country (Pannonian Plane) had a long sickle-curved or arched spine situated on the basal part of the penis. Males sampled in the south-eastern part of the country (the region of Stara Planina Mountains) possessed short, straight or slightly bowed basal spine. A distal penile part appeared as a more stable character than the proximal one. Males from one of the examined populations possessed roundish and spineless penile tip, a feature heretofore not described in B. schaefferi.