Moina Baird, 1850

Pascual, Jhaydee Ann F., Rizo, Eric Zeus C., Han, Boping, Dumont, Henri J. & Papa, Rey Donne S., 2014, Taxonomy and distribution of four Cladoceran families (Branchiopoda: Cladocera: Moinidae, Bosminidae, Chydoridae and Sididae) in Philippine inland waters, Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 62, pp. 771-794 : 780

Genus Moina Baird, 1850

The moinids have a large fused compound eye but lack the ocellus in the genus Moina , although it is present in one species of Moina (reticulata). The head is frequently indented above the eye (called the supra-ocular depression) by the attachment of a muscle bundle to the inner surface of the flexible exoskeleton. The second antenna consists of a large basiopod, an endopod with three segments and an exopod of four segments. A third sensory seta is present on the distal end of the basiopod between two rami. The endopod bears one or more long swimming setae on its distal end. The four-segmented exopod contains long swimming setae. The exopod also bears inner row of short teeth that is suspected to clean dentritus from the surface of the shell. Moinids have five thoracic limbs and each limb has been specifically modified towards greater efficiency in its particular function. The first pair of limbs no longer functions for filtering. It has reduced in size and fewer setae that found on the sidids. The two distal setae in the second limbs are modified for grasping food particles from the posterior limbs. The third and the fourth limbs have large filter comb. The fifth limb serves in closing off the posterior end of the filter chamber forward though the filter comb of the fourth leg. Postabdomen has a large post-anal extension which is conical and ends with the distal claws. There is a row of lateral feathered teeth and a single distal bident tooth on the postabdomen. The claw is usually pectinate and has basal spines at the ventral base of the claw that is also called as “Basaldorn”