Status:
Native
ID Difficulty
Identification
Members of the Lekanesphaera genus are pill isopods, the identification of which is somewhat more complicated than indicated in Naylor & Brandt (2015) and Hayward & Ryland (2017), not least because Naylor & Brandt do not include Lekanesphaera levii, whilst Hayward & Ryland leave out Lekanesphaera monodi. Although the patterning of tubercles on the pleotelson can be indicative of species, determination should be based on the patterning of setae on the first pereopod of mature specimens (Jacobs 1987).
The key identification features of L. hookeri are as follows:
- Pleotelson: usually characterised by two longitudinal rows of tubercles
- Uropods: fairly smooth, not distinctly toothed
- Ischium of the first pereopod: up to 20 smooth setae
- Merus of the first pereopod: up to 20 smooth setae
- Propodus of the first pereopod: lacking distodorsal setae
Males are up to 10.5mm, females up to 8.5mm.
