Embryonic development of the myodocopid ostracod Euphilomedes carcharodonta Smith, 1952

Abstract

Pancrustaceans in general display a wide variety of developmental strategies and are morphologically diverse. The evolution of many compelling pancrustacean features, such as limbs and diverse nervous/sensory systems, however, are not well understood due to a lack of sampling across clades. Ostracods are representatives of the understudied, basally branching Oligostraca. While their amazing fossil record is well-characterized, little is known about the development of any oligostracan. We are developing Euphilomedes carcharodonta Smith, 1952 (Myodocopida, Sarsielloidea, Philomedidae) as a novel model for studying evolution and development within Ostracoda. We examined practical aspects including antibody staining, brood size, time course of embryogenesis, and artificial rearing, as well as provide a description of sarsielloid cell-division patterns, a broad description of the embryonic nervous system, limb bud, and developing carapace.