Ostracoda

ralfwagner · Post by **ralfwagner** » Sat May 19, 2007 12:09 am

Hello,

this Ostracoda lived in one my very small (20 x 20 cm surface) garden ponds. These small ponds even fall dry from time to time but the Ostracodae are able to manage this and reappear as soon as new water is filled in.

Ostracodae seem to be not very cooperative when under the cover-slip

. This fellow here behaved very closed and showed no furca, no antennae, no leg. Any ID is so impossible. However, I believe that at least the first picture is worth to be shown here, just for aesthetical reasons.

a) dark field, overall view, stack from 3 pics

b) hair-coat in phase-contrast

gpmatthews · Post by **gpmatthews** » Sat May 19, 2007 1:02 am

Interesting little creatures - I give them a dose of lidocaine throat spray until they are anaesthetised, then place them in clean water and they usually relax as they recover and put out their feet and antennae for photography. See, e.g. http://www.gpmatthews.nildram.co.uk/ani ... pris05.jpg

They seem to love fallen leaves in shallow water and are very common over the autumn and winter months in our local nature reserve.

ralfwagner · Post by **ralfwagner** » Sat May 19, 2007 2:07 am

Thanks for that hint, Graham. I'd like to try out that lidocaine spray, but where to buy? As far as I know these anaesthetica are not commonly available?

gpmatthews · Post by **gpmatthews** » Sat May 19, 2007 2:11 am

In the UK these products are available from pharmacies without prescription if below a specified strength. Not sure as to legal status elsewhere in EU, however. Have a word with your local pharmacy.

Planapo · Post by **Planapo** » Sat May 19, 2007 4:51 am

Ralf, good shots of these crustaceans you´ve captured here. . #1 is my favourite as one can see nicely through the shell formed by the carapace and look onto some of the inner structures.
The Ostracoda are really tough creatures. Occuring mainly in fresh water habitats, some are found in deep-sea floors, on land in moist soil and even in hot springs. They are widely spread in fossil strata and important indicator organisms in geological prospecting.

Just for linguistics: From your declension of the noun Ostracoda to "Ostracodae" one can infer that you are a Latin scholar.
However, in this case Ostracoda is neuter plural already.

In English, you could say 'an ostracod' (singular), or 'the ostracods or Ostracoda' (plural).

Cheers,
Betty

ralfwagner · Post by **ralfwagner** » Sat May 19, 2007 7:59 am

thanks for that linguistic lesson, Betty.

Indeed I often do not know the English words for these special biological themes. But instead I use the Latin ones in the hope that everyone understands what I mean.