Alona werestchangini was described as a new species for science in 1999. Specimens belonging to this species found in Norway earlier were called Alona guttata variant. One record is from Svalbard, the rest are from northern Norway.

Key characteristics

Alona werestschagini is very close to A. guttata. Specimens found in Norway were originally called A.guttata var. A. werestschagini is somewhat larger than A. guttata. However, smaller sized parthenogenetic females can easily be confused with normal parthenogenetic females of A. guttata. Postabdomen in A. werestschagini ends up in a less strongly protruding, sharp corner compared to A. guttata.

Female: Length 0.4–0.6 mm

Male: Unknown

Ecology and distribution

So far there are 27 records of A. werestschagini from Norway. One record is from Svaldbard while the remaining are from northern Norway. It is always found below 600 m a.s.l., mainly in large lakes. pH vary between 6.0 and 7.5, while the content of electrolytes is low to medium high.

Look-alikes

Alona guttata