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Commonly called seed shrimps these Crustaceans were about 1 mm in length. They had smooth hinged calcitic bivalves and occasionally I could see some feathery appendages extend outside the shells (Pic 2 & 3). They were in large numbers swimming and possibly feeding amongst pond weeds.
Small frog ponds in a native bush reserve - Glenfern Valley Bushland
Because the hard calcite shells cover most of the soft parts of the body, they have to open to allow appendages to assist with feeding, swimming and mating. Oxygen is absorbed directly through the cuticle of the body.
These Ostracods had smooth carapace (shells) but there are other species with setae, pits, striations and ridges.
Ostracods feed on a variety of organic material including algal debris and larvae of other crustaceans.
Some species are bioluminescent producing a bluish light and have been used in scoops by Japanesee during the war to assist with map-reading in the dark.
They are fascinating little crustaceans and are amusing to watch ! I would have loved a microscopic view of these and to present better pics but this will have to do.
Here's some interesting information about them.
https://www.biwahaku.jp/smith/about.html...
I am not sure of the scientific classification except that they are classed so:
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Crustacea
Superclass: Oligostraca
Class: Ostracoda
Spotted on Jul 22, 2019
Submitted on Jul 23, 2019
4 Comments
Actually Tukup my husband Mark pointed these out to me. I walked straight past the pond. They are quite visible if you stop and have a good close look. I've always liked these little crustaceans so this was a lucky find.
Only 1 mm long?? They would need to jump up and down and holler loud for me to even notice them. Great catch Leuba. Thanks for sharing.
Time to fire up the barbie.
My goodness how did you see those.