myodocopid ostracod (order Myodocopida)

The carapace of myodocopid ostracods is less strongly calcified than other ostracods; it consists of two valves hinged dorsally with the body of the ostracod suspended from the dorsal margins of those valves [1]. Benthic myodocopid ostracods are usually found at the sediment surface, within the top centimeter of sediment, or swimming near the bottom [1]. Predators of the myodocopid ostracod Philomedes sp. are the fish Trematomus bernacchii and the phoxocephalid amphipod Heterophoxus videns [1,3].

Ostracods are also called mussel shrimp or seed shrimp. Mussel shrimp differ from most crustaceans in having a very short trunk without external segmentation; nearly all of its body is encased in a hard covering. Most ostracods live on or near the bottom, feeding on microorganisms and organic debris or preying on small invertebrates.

1: Antarctic and Subantarctic Myodocopina (Ostracoda). LS Kornicker. Synopses of the Antarctic Benthos Volume 5. Koenigstein, Germany ; Champaign, Ill. : Koeltz Scientific Books, 1993; 2: Ophelia 24(3):155-175, 1985; 3: Polar Biology 13:291-296, 1993

Text ©Peter Brueggeman. Photograph ©Canadian Museum of Nature (Kathleen Conlan). Photograph may not be used in any form without the express written permission of Canadian Museum of Nature (Kathleen Conlan).