A Virtual Pond Dip

Note: If visiting this page directly, it is designed to be used with the virtual dip in the jar of pond water.

Cypris (multicellular) (Example of an ostracod)         Further details: Freshwater crustacea

Name (genus): Cypris Size : 0.5 - 3 mm Where to find them : Amongst aquatic vegetation and browsing the surface layers of bottom mud Notes : The body of an ostracod, including the head, is enclosed by a bean-shaped shell (the carapace). If seen at low power under the microscope, just the antennae and limbs appear out of the gap between the two halves of the shell as they move amongst vegetation and mud. Some of the smaller rounded water fleas (e.g. Chydorus) may be confused for an ostracod, but the shell of a water flea is usually much more transparent. The ostracods, although quite easy to recognise, are often hard to identify further, because externally they all look rather alike! Classification : Kingdom - Animalia, Phylum - Crustacea, Class - Ostracoda Return to the Pond Dip