Class Ostracoda

Abstract

Ostracodes are microscopic crustaceans common to almost all aquatic and (semi-) terrestrial habitats. Their biogeography, biology, ecology, and shell geochemistry can provide a range of useful information to scientists in many disciplines of the life and earth sciences. With a fossil record that extends into the Paleozoic, the Order Podocopida contains the superfamilies Cypridoidea, Darwinuloidea and Cytheroidea, which in turn contain the extant nonmarine ostracode taxa. An overview of the nonmarine ostracodes is presented here, with information on collecting and analyzing species from a variety of aquatic habitats.