INTRODUCTION
Detailed studies on periphytic and psammic rotifers from
marine and brackish waters are very few on a worldwide
scale. Most information is to be found in Remane
1949; Pennak1951; Althaus 1957a, 1957b; Fenchel &
Jansson 1966; Godske Eriksen 1968; Thane-Fenchel
1968; Tzschaschel 1979, 1980, 1983; Turner 1990, 1993;
and Saunders-Davies 1995. With the exception of the
studies by Pennak (l.c.) and Turner (l.c.) which were done
in North America, all others concern European coastal
waters. The mentioned papers also account for most of
the rotifers known from periphytic and interstitial habitats
of the littoral zone. The rotifer fauna of these habitats
is considered impoverished relative to their freshwater
counterparts. This idea is probably correct; however,
rotifer diversity is unquestionably underestimated
due to insufficient sampling efforts, preclusion because
of the small size of the species, and difficulties in obtaining
well-preserved specimens. For the same reasons
it is likely that many unknown species await description.