Ostracod Group Research Articles

NEW NON-MARINE OSTRACOD GENERA AND SPECIES OF APTIAN AGE FROM ARARIPE BASIN, NORTHEAST BRAZIL

The Ostracoda Subclass comprises the most expressive group of calcareous microfossils in the deposits of the Araripe Basin, especially in its post-rift sequence, which is represented by the Santana Group, of Late Aptian age (= Alagoas Local Stage). Due to the abundance, ostracod species are of great importance for understanding the evolution of the Araripe Basin, with direct application in biostratigraphic and paleoecological analyses. Improving these important applications involves refining the taxonomy of these ostracods, which also contributes to understanding the diversity of this fauna. Increasing knowledge about the ostracod group, this paper describes new and rare taxa recovered from outcrop and well core samples from the Araripe Basin. Two new genera are proposed, Batecypris gen. nov. and Macunhaella gen. nov., and five new species Batecypris reticularis sp. nov., Macunhaella posteroaltis sp. nov., Timiriasevia aratra sp. nov., Theriosynoecum favus sp. nov. and Wolburgiopsis magnafossa sp. nov.. These five taxa were assigned to the families Cyprididae Baird, 1845 and Limnocytheridae Klie, 1938, which comprise other important and known genera for the Araripe Basin. This study shows that in the Araripe Basin the mentioned families can be more diverse than already known, adding value to the understanding of the pre-salt section deposition.

Preserved appendages in a Silurian binodicope: implications for the evolutionary history of ostracod crustaceans.

Ostracod crustaceans originated at least 500 Ma ago. Their tiny bivalved shells represent the most species-abundant fossil arthropods, and ostracods are omnipresent in a wide array of freshwater and marine environments today and in the past. Derima paparme gen. et sp. nov. from the Herefordshire Silurian Lagerstätte (~430 Ma) in the Welsh Borderland, UK, is one of only a handful of exceptionally preserved ostracods (with soft parts as well as the shell) known from the Palaeozoic. A male specimen provides the first evidence of the appendages of Binodicopina, a major group of Palaeozoic ostracods comprising some 135 Ordovician to Permian genera. The appendage morphology of D. paparme, but not its shell, indicates that binodicopes belong to Podocopa. The discovery that the soft-part morphology of binodicopes allies them with podocopes affirms that using the shell alone is an unreliable basis for classifying certain fossil ostracods, and knowledge of soft-part morphology is critical for the task. Current assignment of many fossil ostracods to higher taxa, and therefore the evolutionary history of the group, may require reconsideration.

Three Loxocaudinae species (Ostracoda, Podocopida) from South Korea.

For many ostracod groups in Korea, published records are missing or are very limited. Loxocaudinae is one such subfamily, with only one named species, Loxocaudaorientalis Schornikov, 2011 reported from Korea. Having fewer than 50 species, this subfamily can be considered a small ostracod group, with most of the species known only by their shell morphology. The diagnoses of genera are based on the shell characters that are often homoplastic, and soft body appendages that are difficult to observe, such as the mandibular exopodite. Because of this, the validity of the entire subfamily and some of its genera have been questioned. Here three Loxocaudinae species were collected from the marine macrobenthic assemblages from Korea. Two are new and belong to the genus Glacioloxoconcha Hartmann, 1990, previously known only from Antarctica: Glacioloxoconchajeongokensis sp. nov. and Glacioloxoconchajisepoensis sp. nov. Loxocaudaorientalis is briefly redescribed, with some of the populations having unusual morphological features. COI and 18S rRNA sequences of all three species are provided and the latter marker used to assess the position of the subfamily within the family Loxoconchidae and the superfamily Cytheroidea. The resulting tree shows that within the family Loxoconchidae, the genera Glacioloxoconcha and Loxocauda Schornikov, 1969 are the most closely related, with very shallow but well-supported branches. Polyphyletic and paraphyletic natures of several Cytheroidea families are discussed, inferred from the reconstructed phylogeny.

Middle Eocene Ostracods from southeast Fayoum area, Egypt: Systematics, paleobathymetry and paleobiogeography

This study deals with the Middle Eocene ostracods from southeast Fayoum area, Egypt. To carry out this investigation, three outcrops are examined, Gebel Elwe El Breig, Gebel Sath El Hadid and Gebel Munqar El-Shinnara. This study is based on the Midawara Formation that consists mainly of fossiliferous limestone, marly limestone and clay. The studied ostracod assemblage includes thirty-one species and subspecies, belonging to twenty-three genera and seventeen families. The ostracod group belonging to Cytheroidea Baird, 1850 represents the most abundant group that reaches 81.99% in Munqar El-Shinnara section, 81.88% in Sath El Hadid section, and 61.12% in Elwe El Breig section. The structure of the investigated assemblages (abundance of ostracods, number of taxa, Fisher's alpha, Shannon index, and equitability) indicates deposition in an environment belonging to the neritic zone. Moreover, this study tries to use the multivariate analyses to distinguish the paleobiogeographic provinces in Tethyan region during the Middle Eocene. These analyses are applied on a matrix consists of some nominated Middle Eocene species from 13 countries. The results point to two distinctive provinces, Southern Tethys Province (Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and Jordan) and the Northern Tethys Province (England, Germany, Spain, France, Belgium, Ukraine, Hungary and Turkey). The reasonable similarities between these provinces may reflect a possible connection between both sides of the Tethys during the Middle Eocene age.

Studies on freshwater zooplankton of Venezuela: Present and future perspectives

Venezuela has a high diversity of freshwater habitats distributed in seven hydrographic basins. The great variety of conditions that influence them has allowed the development of extensive zooplankton assemblages and a high diversity of taxa. More than 400 zooplankton taxa have been taxonomically recognized within the groups of protozoa, rotifers (the most diverse), cladocerans, copepods, and ostracods. The ecological aspects of zooplankton have received relative great attention. The zooplankton dynamics have been mainly addressed through direct observation in the field and only a few of experimental studies. The presence of invasive species has also been documented. In general, it is considered that more research in specific areas should be encouraged to help improve the knowledge obtained. Efforts should be directed, mainly, to provide incentives that may increase the number of researchers dedicated to the study of freshwater zooplankton, to the establishment of standardized protocols for the application of modern methods of recognition of the species and analysis of ecological processes, effects of global climatic changes and local stressors to zooplankton and the realization of studies on biodiversity in high altitude regions and in particular, different types of aquatic locations with difficult access.

Evaluation of the ontogeny and sexual dimorphism in a new species of Middle Triassic Darwinulocopina (Crustacea, Ostracoda) from Argentina

AbstractDarwinulocopina is an interesting group of ostracods that includes some of the first invaders of freshwater habitats during the late Palaeozoic. The Permian–Triassic extinction greatly reduced their diversity, culminating in a single extant family. The darwinulids are regarded as ‘ancient asexuals’ given that a parthenogenetic mode of reproduction is assumed for all post‐Triassic members of the group. However, the high diversity achieved during the late Palaeozoic is often associated with sexual reproduction. Here we studied a monospecific assemblage of ostracods from the Middle Triassic of the Cuyo Basin, Province of Mendoza, Argentina, recognizing a new species of Darwinulocopina,Prasuchonella?huarpesp. nov. We discuss the traditional length/height and length/width graphical method for identifying ontogeny/sexual dimorphism in fossil ostracod assemblages. A geometric morphometric analysis was performed on both lateral and dorsal views of almost 170 carapaces, to evaluate the ontogeny and sexual dimorphism of the species. The best results were obtained from the analysis in dorsal view, discriminating four ontogenetic stages. This revealed a main ontogenetic trend related to the development of the brooding chamber. Although subtle in difference, female carapaces are wider not only at the brooding chamber, but also along the whole length, compared with the presumptive males. We provide full systematic descriptions and discussions, attempting to unify descriptive criteria for recent and fossil darwinulocopine carapaces, and suggest closeness to species previously described from the upper Permian of Russia. As a result, we recommend a review of Mesozoic records of Darwinulocopina, particularly those from the Triassic.

Sexual dimorphism and left-right asymmetry of carapace ornamentation in Hemicytheria setosa RUNDIĆ 2002

In biostratigraphic research of the Upper Miocene of the Pannonian Basin System, one of the frequently detected and important ostracod genera is Hemicytheria. Among more than 20 species of this genus, Hemicytheria setosa is present in sandy facies of the Lake Pannon sediments in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The aims of this study were to describe sexual dimorphism and differences between left and right valve morphology in Hemicytheria setosa. Landmark based geometric morphometrics is applied on the grounds of existence of the homologue pattern of the fossae and pore conuli on the valve surface of this group of ostracods. Significant differences between the sexes and between the left and right valves are detected in the present study. The obtained results indicate that applied methods and chosen landmarks could be useful in the studies of valve ornamentation-variation in fossil and recent Ostracoda.

Polyconchoecia commixtus gen. et sp. nov. (Ostracoda: Myodocopa: Halocyprididae) from the South China Sea

Planktonic ostracods are small crustaceans abundant in marine ecosystem worldwide as appreciable part of marine zooplankton. Family Halocyprididae is a large group of halocyprid ostracods, and the tribe Conchoeciini has contained 21 genera previously. We described a further genus with a species Polyconchoecia commixtus gen. et sp. nov. from the middle of South China Sea in this study. The new species can be distinguished from related genera and species in having a unique combination of these characteristics: a lateral gland placed over right asymmetric gland and open near posterior margin; dense edge glands placed along ventral margin of carapace in line; shape of frontal organ; e-seta of first antenna is bare; endopod of second antenna has one small oval hump with central concave on mid-ventral margin, instead of processus mamillaris, exopod 1 has a small disto-dorsal spine, exopod 1 and 2 are fused, exopod 3 and 4 are bare; endopod 1 of mandible has one long ventral seta, endopod 2 has one ventral seta; maxillary endopod 1 has two basal setae; endopod 1 of fifth limb has only one ventral seta; endopod 1 of sixth limb and endopod 2 have no ventral seta. The definite distinctions in locations of major glands are the key characteristics of the new genus.

Dynamics of benthic marine communities across the Early-Middle Pleistocene boundary in the Mediterranean region (Valle di Manche, Southern Italy): Biotic and stratigraphic implications

The Valle di Manche (VdM) section (Calabria, Southern Italy) offers the opportunity to investigate the ostracod turnover along a continuous shelf succession straddling the Early-Middle Pleistocene boundary, and compare it against other paleoenvironmental (i.e., mollusks) and paleoclimatic (Uvigerina peregrina δ18O) records. High-resolution (ca. 1 sample/m) ostracod fauna quantitative data, coupled with gradient analysis (Detrended Correspondence Analysis and non-Metric Multi-Dimensional Scaling), document a strong relationship between changes in faunal composition and lithofacies vertical stacking patterns. The comparison between the mollusk- and ostracod-derived ordination data demonstrates that the meio- and macro-faunal turnover is guided by a common complex gradient: bathymetry. The integrated ostracod-mollusk gradient analysis also provides a trend in water depths along the section, highlighting to what extent such multivariate approach can improve the paleoenvironmental and sequence stratigraphic interpretation of ancient shallow marine successions. When plotted stratigraphically, ordination major axis sample scores reveal two increasing-decreasing patterns in water depth that fit well with the T-R cycles previously identified. Paleobathymetric estimates combined with the vertical distribution of key ostracod groups (i.e., epiphytic taxa on sandy substrates vs. deep-sea mud related taxa) allow refining depositional trends, stratal stacking patterns and position of previously not well resolved sequence stratigraphic surfaces within each T-R cycle (e.g., Transgressive Surface-TS). Indeed, two rapid increases in water depth values mark the TSs that separate shallowing-upward, progradational (RST) from deepening upward, retrogradational (TST) stratal stacking patterns of shelf deposits. The TSs, which underline fine-grained successions dominated by deep-sea mud-lover taxa, are invariably constrained to the inception of interglacials Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 21 and 19, identified within the VdM section by benthic foraminifera δ18O values. Within both the VdM T-R cycles, the deepest conditions (ca. 140 m of water depth) are invariably identified within the Neopycnodonte unit, slightly above the lightest δ18O intervals. The overlying decreasing bathymetric trend, coupled with shifts in ostracod ecological groups, allows to identify in the bryozoans lithofacies the stillstand+falling of the relative sea-level, also tracked by a progressively heavier δ18O record. More stable paleobathymetric conditions (around 40–45 m of water depth) characterize the overlying silt-sand deposits dominated by epiphytic species and showing the heaviest δ18O values.

Phylogenetic position and age of Lake Baikal candonids (Crustacea, Ostracoda) inferred from multigene sequence analyzes and molecular dating.

With 104 endemic species family Candonidae is one of the most diverse crustacean groups in Lake Baikal, yet their phylogenetic relationships and position in the family have not been addressed so far. Here, we study the phylogenetic position of Baikal candonids within the family and their evolutionary history using molecular markers for the first time since their original description. We choose 10 Baikal and 28 species from around the world, and three ribosomal RNA‐s (18S, 28S, and 16S), and analyze individual and concatenated datasets using Bayesian Inference in MrBayes and BEAST. For molecular divergence time estimates, four fossil records are used to calibrate the root and three internal nodes. The 28S dataset is tested under the strict molecular clock, while for other data we use relaxed clocks. Resulting trees show incongruence between molecular and fossil divergence time estimates, with the former suggesting older ages. Strict molecular clock analysis results in narrower node age confidence intervals and younger time estimates than other analysis. All trees support at least two candonid lineages in Baikal, with two independent colonization events, and 28S suggests a major radiation between 12 and 5 Mya. This divergence time estimate mostly agrees with another, unrelated, ostracod group in the lake and other lake animals as well. Baikal candonid clades show a close phylogenetic relationship with Palearctic lineages, but their deep divergence is indicative of separate genera. Results also suggest a monophyly of tribes that today live exclusively in subterranean waters, and we offer several hypotheses of their evolutionary history.

Phylogenetic position of the East Asian ostracod genus Undulacandona within Candonidae with description of four new species from subterranean waters of Korea

Family Candonidae is one of the most diverse freshwater ostracod groups in terms of number of taxa and ecological adaptations. The family is especially well represented in the subterranean waters around the world, with many species being short-range endemics. Here we describe four new species, Undulacandona koreanasp. nov., U. aeolussp. nov., U. andromedasp. nov. and U. cetussp. nov., from two localities in the central part of South Korea. One more species, Undulacandona sp., is briefly reported here, but not described because of the absence of adults. The mtCOI sequence obtained from Undulacandona sp. and its closest relative, U. koreana, supports a separate species status. Undulacandona Smith, 2011 was previously known only from two species from Japan. A peculiar looking Zenker organ, hemipenis, and uropodal ramus of the six Undulacandona suggest an isolated position in the family Candonidae. Here we use 28S and 18S rRNA to reconstruct phylogenetical relationships within candonid ostracods, but also between the three closely related families: Candonidae, Cyclocyprididae and Paracyprididae. We sample 30 species and use three methods to reconstruct the phylogenetic relationships: Bayesian inference, maximum likelihood and maximum parsimony. None of the methods and neither of the markers clearly resolve the interfamily relationships. However, the family Candonidae is always supported with highest bootstrap values and posterior probabilities, as is a sister relationship between Undulacandona and Cryptocandona Kaufmann, 1900. Our results also indicate the need for a revision of Paracyprididae, as well as the polyphyletic nature of the genus Fabaeformiscandona Krstic, 1972. We also recognize potential misidentifications on GenBank. Finally, we also provide a taxonomic key to Undulacandona species.

Distribution of ostracods in west-central Argentina related to host-water chemistry and climate: implications for paleolimnology

Ecological and biogeographical studies of Neotropical non-marine ostracods are rare, although such information is needed to develop reliable paleoecological and paleoclimatic reconstructions for the region. An extensive, yet little explored South American area of paleoclimatic interest, is the arid-semiarid ecotone (Arid Diagonal) that separates arid Patagonia from subtropical/tropical northern South America, and lies at the intersection of the Pacific and Atlantic atmospheric circulation systems. This study focused on the Laguna Llancanelo basin, Argentina, a Ramsar site located within the Arid Diagonal, and was designed to build a modern dataset using ostracods (diversity, spatial distribution, seasonality, habitat preferences) and water chemistry. Cluster and multivariate analysis of the data indicated that salinity is the most significant variable segregating two ostracod groups. Limnocythere aff. staplini is the only species that develops abundant populations in the saline ephemeral Laguna Llancanelo during almost all seasons, and is accompanied by scarce Cypridopsis vidua in summer. The latter species is abundant in freshwater lotic sites, where Ilyocypris ramirezi, Herpetocypris helenae, and Cyprididae indet. are also found in large numbers. Darwinula stevensoni, Penthesilenula incae, Heterocypris incongruens, Chlamydotheca arcuata, Chlamydotheca sp., Herpetocypris helenae, and Potamocypris smaragdina prefer freshwater lentic conditions (springs), with C. arcuata and Chlamydotheca sp. found only in the Carapacho warm spring, which has a year-round constant temperature of ~20 °C. Seasonal sampling was necessary because some taxa display a highly seasonal distribution. Species that were recorded have either subtropical or Patagonian affinities, although a few taxa are endemic or common to both regions. These data can serve as modern analogues for reconstructing the late Quaternary history of the area, and to investigate the extent and position of the arid/semiarid ecotone (Arid Diagonal) during past glacial/interglacial cycles.

The Strud crustacean fauna (Late Devonian, Belgium): updated review and palaeoecology of an early continental ecosystem

ABSTRACTArthropods were the first known animals to colonise land habitats, with myriapods and arachnids having done so at least by the Silurian. Much later, several lineages of Pancrustacea (hexapods and the paraphyletic crustaceans) also ventured onto land; the hexapods by the Early Devonian, and later at least four other groups of crustaceans, namely isopods, amphipods, ostracods and decapods, most of which generally colonised the continental water bodies. All faced a series of challenges (in particular: gas exchange; desiccation; reproduction; osmoregulation; and exposure to ultraviolet radiation), resulting in many morphological, physiological and ecological adaptations. Nonetheless, whether they reached land via saltwater or freshwater remains poorly documented, mainly because relevant localities are few. The Famennian (Late Devonian) Strud locality in Belgium provided an exceptional source of information on early aquatic continental ecosystems and their plant, vertebrate and arthropod colonisers at a crucial step in the terrestrialisation process. Here, we review and update its crustacean fauna, which inhabited floodplain and temporary pool waters. New anatomical details of the notostracanStrudops goldenbergiLagebroet al., 2015, as well as a new genus and species of spinicaudatan, are described. We also discuss the ecology of this unique, early continental ecosystem and the insights it gives into the terrestrialisation process.

Distribution of ostracod and benthic foraminiferal assemblages during the last 550 kyr in the East-Corsica basin, western Mediterranean Sea: A paleo-environmental reconstruction

The study of Quaternary sediments covering the last 550kyr from the borehole GDEC-4-2, East-Corsica basin, was performed through the study of benthic meiofaunal assemblages (ostracoda and benthic foraminifera) whose distribution responds to climate changes, and glacial–interglacial variability in particular. The interglacial ostracod group is mainly composed of the Argilloecia acuminata, Cytheropteron alatum, Henryhowella sp., Polycope sp. and Cytherella sp., which indicate an enhanced surface productivity and possibly high bottom water temperature during these warm intervals. Benthic foraminifera, such as Hoeglundina elegans, Sigmoilopsis schlumbergeri, Bigenerina nodosaria and Hyalinea balthica are predominant during interglacial periods and also show an increasing surface productivity associated to warm intervals. Increase in surface productivity would contribute to an enhanced export of organic matter to sea floor at the GDEC-4-2 site during interglacial periods. The bottom temperature drop coupled with the important sedimentary inputs (associated to a significant quantity of refractory organic matter) during glacial periods was highlighted by the predominance of ostracoda, such as Paradoxostoma sp., Cytheropteron testudo, Bathycythere vanstraateni, Macrocypris sp., Echinocythereis echinata and benthic foraminifera as Bolivina spathulata, Bulimina costata, and Bulimina marginata. The distribution of some benthic foraminifera species describing a turnover system allowed the characterization of the last three climate cycles (MIS 8–9, MIS 6–7, MIS 1–5) probably marked by changes of bottom water paleoceanographic conditions in terms of temperature, salinity, bottom current intensity and surface productivity. The cyclic variations of the allochthonous group recorded over the last 550kyr suggest a major role played by the eustatic factor, with the latter possibly favouring down slope transport. The distribution of this group allowed thus establishing a link between shelf-basin sediment transfer and climate, with enhanced shelf-basin sediment transfer during glacial low stands.

Congruence between male upper lip morphology and molecular phylogeny in Parapolycope (Ostracoda), with two new species from Korea

The ostracod genera Parapolycope Klie, 1939 and Kliecope Tanaka, Tsukagoshi & Karanovic, 2014 have a sexually dimorphic upper lip, and males use their lip during courtship. Here we study the male upper lip of 14 species in order to find homologous structures. For this purpose, the lip is divided into six homologous parts, determined by their relative position on the lip and the lip’s position in relation to other body parts. We found that the distal part (‘c’) is the most variable across taxa, probably due to high sexual selection. Six characters of the male upper lip are used in our cladistic analysis, along with another 12, in order to study phylogenetic relationships between Parapolycope species from East Asia. In addition, 18S rRNA is used to reconstruct molecular phylogeny and test the congruence between morphological and molecular data. The recovered topology on all obtained trees is almost identical, emphasising the importance of the male upper lip morphology in interpreting phylogenetic relationships in this peculiar ostracod group. Parapolycope viriosa, sp. nov. and P. widoensis, sp. nov. from marine interstitial habitats in South Korea are described here. To aid further identification of the 12 East Asian Parapolycope species we provide a taxonomic key.

Ostracods (Crustacea): Some problems of systematics

The initially established ostracod classification was based mainly on soft part anatomy of extant taxa. In the fossil record, ostracods are usually represented by shells alone, complicating the elaboration of a unified taxonomic system. A brief review of ostracod development in the Phanerozoic is outlined. Long-lived groups, such as Myodocopida, Podocopida, and Platycopida (Ordovician-Recent), display stable uniformity of the shell and soft part structures. The Paleozoic ostracod groups possess sharply different shell structures. The ostracod shell type is undoubtedly an important taxonomic feature. It is noteworthy that the points of view on the systematic position of extraordinary ostracod groups which became extinct in the Paleozoic (leperditicopids, beyrichicopids, kloedenellocopids) vary widely. It is proposed to assign all the ostracodomorphs and ostracods (bradoriamorphs, palaeocopids sensu lato, platycopids, podocopids) to the same high-rank taxon.

Zoogeography of the ostracod genusNannocandona(Podocopa) with description of two new species from Europe and East Asia

Candoninae is by far the most diverse ostracod group in subterranean habitats, with many genera which today have no surface water representatives. This subfamily is also peculiar because species tend to have restricted distributions regardless of habitat type, and, unlike other non-marine ostracod lineages, extremely rarely reproduce parthenogenetically. Nannocandona faba Ekman, 1914 is an exception, being originally described from Sweden, but then reported throughout the Holarctic. We study morphological vari- ability of this species here, both based on old museum specimens and on freshly collected material. We propose that the name should only be restricted to the Swedish population, and we describe two new subterranean species: Nannocandona danielopoli n. sp. from Austria, and Nannocandona schornikovi n. sp. from South Korea and the Russian Far East. These descriptions allow us to evaluate records of N. faba in other parts of the Holarctic. A new map of the genus distribution is proposed, as well as a key to species identification. Parthenogenetic reproduction of Candoninae and their general ecology is also discussed.

Ostracoda from inland waterbodies with saline influence in Central Germany: Implications for palaeoenvironmental reconstruction

As a necessary precursor to reconstructing the palaeoenvironmental conditions likely to be temporarily influenced by salt bearing ground waters, modern sites of Central Germany, known from the literature to be continental salt water localities, were investigated for their ostracod faunas. Analysing their associations enables the test of several methods in palaeoenvironmental analysis based on ostracods. In total, 54 ostracod taxa are documented. One species, Microdarwinula zimmeri, is new for the area. Interesting is the historical occurrence of Cyprideis torosa and Cytheromorpha fuscata, typically regarded as indicators of brackish water. The draining of wetlands has led to the disappearance of many former inland salt sites so that only a few of the sampled water bodies still show slightly elevated salinity (oligohaline range). The most important factors for the distribution of ostracod associations are groundwater influence, turbidity and ecological stability, whereas the type of dominating ions is of lesser importance because of time-averaging using taphocoenoses from surface sediments in our study. The relative proportion of ecological groups of ostracods appears to be the best tool for reconstructing past habitat types. The newly established Ostracod Permanence Index and Ostracod Turbulence Index allow the recognition of the influx of ground and surface waters, perennial habitats and flowing waters. A test of the Mutual Ostracod Temperature Range (MOTR) method demonstrates its capability to reconstruct, with a precision of +/−2°C, the mean July and January air temperatures for the time interval 2002–2012. Additionally, the study contributes to the poorly known Recent distribution of ostracods in Central Germany.

Distribution, Diversity and Ecological Characteristics of Freshwater Ostracoda (Crustacea) in Shallow Aquatic Bodies of the Ankara Region, Turkey

Although Turkey has a variety of wetlands of different types and sizes, many of them are threatened by human activities. To show the biological importance of these habitats, samples were randomly collected from 173 different wetland sites in the Ankara region during the summer of 2011. 31 ostracod taxa belonging to 14 genera were identified, including two species (Eucypris elliptica and Cavernocypris subterranea) that are new reports for the Turkish ostracod fauna and 19 taxa that are new reports for the region. Canonical Correspondence Analyses was able to show 58.9 % of the correlation between species and environmental variables. Water temperature, moisture and dissolved oxygen were the most important (P = 0.05) factors influencing species occurrence. Increasing sampling size (number of sites) did not significantly increase the numbers of species collected at sites located at elevations between 442 and 1,520 m.a.s.l. This also implies that altitude may have a secondary role on species diversity. Unweighted Paired Group Mean Analyses illustrated four main clustering groups of ostracods, in which species are clustered according to their ecological preferences. Based on our results, suitability of habitats appears to drive ostracod distribution and diversity in these wetland sites. Results clearly showed that these habitats can harbor diverse ostracod communities that warrant conservation.

Earicandona, new genus and the first record of Typhlocypris pratensis (Crustacea, Ostracoda) from South Korea

Candoninae is the most diverse group of freshwater ostracods with over 300 living species described from all around the world. However, only 11 species have been reported from South Korea. Considering abundant freshwater ecosystems here this number is very low. It is no wonder that newly collected samples of freshwater meiofauna often contain Candoninae ostracods which are new records for South Korea, or new taxa. Earicandona mounchyon gen. nov. sp. nov. and Typhlocypris (Pseudocandona) pratensis (Hartwig, 1901) were collected from two open freshwater bodies in Gangwon-do, and Gyeongsangbuk-do in South Korea. The new genus is most closely related to the breuili-group of Fabaeformiscandona Krstic, 1972. The most important apomorphic character of the new genus is a hemipenis with a poorly sclerified lobe g, and prehensile palps with more rounded dorsal margins. Beside the new species, Earicandona contains only E. okuboi (Smith & Janz, 2008) comb. nov. from Lake Biwa. This species was originally described in Fabaeformiscandona, fabaeformis-group. They differ mostly in the morphology of the shell, but also some details of soft body, including the more pronounced genital process in the Korean species. Typhlocypris pratensis was so far known from Europe and this finding significantly broadens its area of distribution. Both Typhlocypris and Earicandona belong to the tribe Candonini and the key to the genera of this tribe is also presented here.