Freshwater cladocerans (Crustacea: Branchiopoda) of the wetlands of the Indian Botanical garden, Howrah, West Bengal, India

The Indian Botanic Garden located on the northern bank of the river Hooghly, Howrah district, West Bengal consists of twenty-five wetlands of varying sizes. To study the Cladoceran fauna, four perennial lakes and ponds were selected.

The survey was repeated for three different periods: April 1994, September 1994 and March 1995. Of the 38 species of Cladocera, belonging to 6 families and 24 genera, recorded in the present study, three are new records to West Bengal and one Diaphanosoma leuctenbergianum, is a new record to India. All the four species have been described in detail to facilitate identification.