Ostracod shell!

arturoag75 · Post by **arturoag75** » Fri Nov 25, 2011 7:29 am

hi ,
i found this strange subject .. I think that is what remains after the ostracods is dead!
obj. 16x - 25x, Darkfield and Flash, stack of five images!
best
arturo

Mitch640 · Post by **Mitch640** » Fri Nov 25, 2011 10:34 am

Very nice Arturo. I have found quite a few of these also, but don't ostracods "molt" like any other shelled bug? I somehow got the feeling when seeing them, that they had just outgrown them and left the shell behind.

Greg Gavelis · Post by **Greg Gavelis** » Fri Nov 25, 2011 11:46 am

Fantastic, a haunting image!

RogelioMoreno · Post by **RogelioMoreno** » Fri Nov 25, 2011 1:46 pm

Nice!

Rogelio

Charles Krebs · Post by **Charles Krebs** » Fri Nov 25, 2011 2:47 pm

Arturo,
Very mysterious and eerie looking image. The darkfield illumination give it a very ghostly appearance. Nice!

I believe it is a molt rather than the remains of a dead one. Mitch is right, they do molt (but they are crustaceans rather than bugs).

If ostracods are of interest, here is a "free" PDF of a book that will give you more information than you thought existed on these creatures. Worth downloading if you watch these with the microscope:
http://ia700400.us.archive.org/2/items/ ... 21kesl.pdf

Particularly interesting is how the shell is formed. It is discussed in a few places. Page 71 is interesting in this regard.

The last picture I posted here shows a similar view of a live specimen (but a litttle too close to get the nice "wing" effect you had captured here).

Mitch640 · Post by **Mitch640** » Fri Nov 25, 2011 2:53 pm

Charles, I came to this too late. I am afraid they are all bugs to me. No offense intended to any real bugs.

arturoag75 · Post by **arturoag75** » Sat Nov 26, 2011 1:11 am

Many thanks guys for your time and explanations

best
arturo