© The Author, 2009. Journal compilation © Australian Museum, Sydney, 2009 
Records of the Australian Museum (2009) Vol. 61: 49-72. ISSN 0067-1975 
doi: 10.3853/j.0067-1975.61.2009.1498 
A Revision of the Australian Endemic Clam Shrimp 
Genus Limnadopsis Spencer & Hall 
(Crustacea: Branchiopoda: Spinicaudata: Limnadiidae) 
Brian V. Timms 
Research Associate, Australian Museum, 6 College Street, Sydney NSW 2010, Australia 
brian.timms@gmail.com 
Abstract. Species of Limnadopsis Spencer & Hall occur in temporary pools in arid and semi-arid areas 
of Australia. The genus is redefined and Limnadopsium Novojilov treated as a junior synonym. As in 
other spinicaudatans, most morphological characters are variable, this variability is given in expanded and 
rewritten descriptions of the three previously described species: L. birchii Baird, L. parvispinus Henry, 
and L. tatei Spencer & Hall. Five additional species from northern and western parts of Australia are 
described: L. minuta n.sp., L. multilineata n.sp., L. occidentalis n.sp., L. paradoxa n.sp., and L. pilbarensis 
n.sp. Limnadopsis brunneus Spencer & Hall is considered a nomen dubium. The most useful features for 
discriminating species are the shape of the carapace, the relative development of the dorsal carinae of the 
carapace, the number and relative size of the telsonic denticles, the number of spines on the cercopods, 
and the surface morphology of the eggs. A key is provided for all species. Western Australia has six 
species; much of the rest of Australia has 2-3 species, but none has been recorded from relatively well 
watered Victoria, Tasmania, and north Queensland. 
Timms, Brian V., 2009. A revision of the Australian endemic clam shrimp genus Limnadopsis Spencer & Hall 
(Crustacea: Branchiopoda: Spinicaudata: Limnadiidae). Records of the Australian Museum 61(1): 49-72. 
Of the eight genera of clam shrimps (within the Laevicaudata, 
Spinicaudata, and Cyclestherida) known so far from Australia, 
only Limnadopsis is endemic (Richter & Timms 2005). This 
genus was erected by Spencer & Hall (1896) to accommodate 
three new species, L. squirei, L. tatei, andL. brunneus. Central 
to their genus definition was the presence of “spinous processes 
on the dorsal edge of the carapace”, and the presence of 26-32 
pairs of legs. Sayce (1903) realized what was then known as 
Estheria birchii (of Baird 1860) was synonymous with L. 
squirei, and so designated the latter as the type of Limnadopsis. 
Henry (1924) added a new species L. parvispinus, but this 
publication went virtually unheeded (e.g., Novojilov 1958, 
Thiery 1996). Much later Novojilov (1958) thought all three 
of Spencer & Hall’s (1896) species were so different from 
each other that they represent three different genera, so he 
split off L. tatei into a new genus Limnadiopsium, but he never 
proposed anew genus forL. brunneus. Daday (1925) confused 
the spelling and definition of Limnadopsis, and this problem 
continues (Novojilov 1958, Straskraba 1965a, Thiery 1996, 
Dumont & Negrea 2004), although Brtek (1997) corrected 
the spelling of Limnadopsis, L. birchii, and L. squirei. Some 
authors (e.g., Richter & Timms 2005) have not recognized 
Limnadiopsium, and there are problems with the descriptions 
of L. parvispinus and L. brunneus (Richter & Timms 2005), 
all of which further confuse the taxonomy of this group. The 
only other study on the genus is by Pabst & Richter (2004), 
on larval development in L. parvispinus. 
Four undescribed species of Limnadopsis have been 
found in Western Australia, and another nearby in the 
Northern Territory. Given the confused state of the 
taxonomy of this genus and its associates, it is the aim of 
this paper to revise the genus. 
