Ostracods

Abstract

Of all the arthropods, the bivalved tiny ostracods (0.20-2 mm, rarely up to 32 mm in size) have the most complete fossil record, extending for about 450 million years (Ma) from the ordovician to the present (Martens 1998, 2008; Siveter et al. 2003; Martens et al. 2003). The ostracods have a wide distribution from intertidal to hadal depths (up to 7000 m), in coastal estuaries and marshes, in most fresh waters, and in a few terrestrial habitats. Besides, the fact that the ostracods thrive in a diverse habitat, their valves also preserve a “snapshot” of the ambient water at the time of shell formation, thus, making them an excellent proxy for accessing changes in the paleoenvironment (see Whatley 1988; Smith and Horne 2002; De Deckker 2002).