Ostracod Research at the Lake Biwa Museum, Japan

Robin James Smith

Genus Candona Baird, 1845

Superfamily: Cypridoidea Baird, 1845
Family: Candonidae Kaufmann, 1900
Subfamily: Candoninae Kaufmann, 1900

Two species have been reported from Japan:

1. Candona candida (O.F. Müller, 1776)

Left side view of a female Candona candida, length about 1 mm. This is one of the first species of ostracod to be described using the binomial classification system, years ago. 'Candida' is derived from the Latin candidus, meaning shining white.

External view of a female left valve of Candona candida, length 1007 microns.

External view of a female right valve of Candona candida, length 980 microns.

Additional figures in: Meisch 2000; Smith & Kamiya 2015.
Habitat: In Japan reported from ponds, a creek, and shallow streams (Smith & Kamiya 2015). Elsewhere, reported from a wide range of habitats, including lakes, ponds, ditches, swamps, rivers, wells and subterranean waters (see Meisch 2000 for a review).
Mode of life: Benthic.
Reproductive mode: Only females reported from Japan. Males occur in small numbers elsewhere.
Known distribution: Eastern Hokkaido (Smith & Kamiya 2015). General distribution, Holarctic, but less abundant in the south (Meisch 2000).
References:
⚬ Meisch, C. 2000. Freshwater Ostracoda of Western and Central Europe. In: Schwoerbel, J., Zwick, P., (Eds.), Süßwasserfauna von Mitteleuropa 8/3. Spektrum Akademischer Verlag, Heidelberg, Berlin 522 pp.
⚬ Müller O. F. 1776. Zoologiae Danicae Prodromus, seu Animalium Daniae et Norvegiae Indigenarum characters, nomina, et synonyma imprimis popularium. Havniae. XXXII:1-282.
⚬ Smith, R. J. & Kamiya, T. 2015. Four new species of the subfamily Candoninae (Crustacea, Ostracoda) from freshwater habitats in Japan. European Journal of Taxonomy, 136, 1-34.

2. Candona subgibba Sars, 1926

Figures in: Sars 1926.
Habitat: In Japan reported from a pond.
Mode of life: Benthic.
Reproductive mode: Only females reported.
Known distribution: Tokyo. Elsewhere, Alsaka.
Remarks: Only one female of this species has been reported from Japan, in Sars' original description.
References:
⚬ Sars, G.O. 1926. Freshwater Ostracoda from Canada and Alaska. Report of the Canadian Arctic Expedition 1913-18, Vol. VII: Crustacea, Part 1: Ostracoda, 2-23.