No. Moina macrocopa show several other distinguishing characters which I had mentioned earlier from this reference - Cladocera and Other Branchiopoda
Stanley L. Dodson, D. Christopher Rogers, in Ecology and Classification of North American Freshwater Invertebrates (Third Edition), 2010
https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-374855-3.00020-0
But these characters were very difficult to be identified under the microscope and the number of eggs in the epiphippium was the easiest to spot. Hence, the conclusion that it is indeed macrocopa is not an accurate one as all the identifying characters were not taken into consideration.
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@drishtantmkawale letās post our moinaās work here tooā¦let more people get engaged in the discussion
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Good description @Akshitha but you need to understand only Moina grp will be able to know what exactly are you trying to say, just make it simple with pictures so that everyone could understand it easilyā¦it will be helpful for me too.
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Identifying characters of what? @Akshitha are they both male and female? Iām new to Moina so just want to know much more about itā¦the brood pouch which you labelled shown in the right isnāt visible in the Moina shown in the leftā¦itās like something darkish.What is it ? Please tell us about it with reference.It will be highly helpful for many people like me
The reference you quoted first of all does not have the entire paper so if you have gone through the entire paper please send us over here @Akshitha
Males are smaller than females and have long graspers which are used for holding the female during copulation. Sexually mature females carry eggs enclosed in an ephippium (a hardened coat) which is part of the dorsal exoskeleton.
I donāt quite know why the moina on the left is darkish there either 
It is supposed to show the eggs thereā¦
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What do you think would be the maturation period of the females?
Can you please label the different parts of male n female moina for our better understanding ,by this we will easily be able to know what are the differences between both the twoā¦also tell us about the life stages and life span of both. @Akshitha
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Iām not exactly sure as my model organism is not Moina. But, I read that we can link maturation and molting. There is an increase in body length which occur principally within molts. Newborn cladocerans grow rapidly and slows down as it reaches maturity. The number of molts prior to maturation, again varies in different cladocerans. In Daphnia magna 5 or more pre-maturation molts have been observed. I could not find an exact maturation period for Moina, but if I do come across such an articleā¦Iāll be sure to update here.
Reference:
Physiology of the Cladocera (Second edition)
Nikolai N.Smirnov
2017
Chapter 10 - Growth and Molting
https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-805194-8.00010-6
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This is the female.
And this is the male.
- The males are always smaller than the females and this is the major distinguishing feature. The females are between 0.5mm and 1.8mm depending on the species.
- The well developed brood pouch in females is absent in males.
- The life span of males are considerably shorter than females as they are more sensitive to temperature changes.
Life stages - Reproduce principally through pathogenesis ( reproduction from an ovum without fertilization ) and after several generations is followed by gametogenisis during which dormant eggs are surrounded by the ephippium.
- They have no larval stages in their life cycle.
- Long periods of parthenocarpic reproduction is interrupted by this gametogenetic reproduction, which results in the formation of dormant eggs that serve for the latent end of the life cycle termed diapause. Over 700 generations of uninterrupted parthenocarpic reproduction has been recorded for Moina macrocopa.
- Liberation of young via brood pouch is accompanied by moulting.
- Growth and maturation is also accompanied by moulting. The growth significantly slows down once the Moina reaches maturity.
Life span
The life span varies from species to species.
Moina macrocopa - 11-15 days
Moina weismanni - 17 days
Moina brachiata - 28 days
References:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232709437_Moina_Crustacea_Anomopoda_Moinidae_in_the_Czech_Republic_a_review/link/568a8a8208ae1975839d8e71/download
Physiology of the Cladocera (Second Edition)
2017
Nikolai N.Smirnov
Chapter 10 - Growth and Molting
Redirecting
Chapter 11 - Reproduction
https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-805194-8.00011-8
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@Siddhesh Looking for the updates of the Moina Cultures in your college!! URGENT!!
We can look for problems, their solutions and also the conceptual gaps which arise while dealing with these problems.
What if I say the smaller one is not male but an young, immature female? @Akshitha @drishtantmkawale and others
Looking for updates!